Ensuring Resilience In Tourism Sector

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Ensuring Resilience In Tourism Sector

23 avril 2020 14:16

Casualties resulting from the devastating effects of Coronavirus pandemic have continued to increase. Apart from over one million persons killed by the disease across the globe, there are several sectors of the economy that have been joining the long list of victims of the virus which has proven to have no limit both in its spread and the calibre of targets hit. An abrupt halt imposed on movement by the epidemic that started in December 2019 in the now world famous Huanan seafood market in Wuhan, a locality in the Wubie Province in China, gradually proved to be a generalized nightmare to the international community as one country after the other had to close its borders to the outside world following the rapid spread of the disease. Such a situation obviously had a bitter consequence on the aviation industry which is the fastest mode of travelling. As the disease keeps progressing, there are other facets of the world economy that must make far-reaching adjustments if they have to survive the aftermath of the pandemic. The tourist industry is one such example. On 7 April, 2020 officials of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) met in Geneva with their colleagues of the World Health Organisation (UNWHO) to reflect on a coordinated response to COVID-19. WTO officials called for “solid international leadership and for tourism to be included as a priority in future recovery efforts” after the pandemic. While the recovery period may still be a matter of conjecture because the history of COVID-19 is still being written, the message is that, more than sheer resilience is required for any sector of the economy to stay afloat after the disease.

The level of destruction already created worldwide by the pandemic is traumatizing. Over 50 million jobs across the world are said to have been jeopardised, according to recent statistic from experts. As of 12 April 2020, over one million people had died from the disease and there were more than 1.5 million confirmed cases worldwide, according to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University in the United States. COVID-19 has proven to be neither a respecter of persons nor institutions. Sporting legends, high profile political le...