WTTC urges government support for travel and tourism companies

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, for its acronym in English), considered that urgent government support to companies dedicated to the tourism sector is urgent, in order to avoid economic collapse and job losses in this industry, which It is a strategic pillar of the economy of nations.
 
The agency, which represents the global private sector in this sector, noted that it is concerned about the lack of urgency in some governments to address the current problem, which will have a devastating impact, especially on small and medium-sized companies, as well as among workers. of the sector.
 
The World Council estimates that 75 million jobs globally are at risk from the health emergency, so it proposes a three-point plan for governments to combat the devastating effect of Covid-19, which includes:
 
1. Protect the wages, income and jobs of millions of people who are at risk.
 
2.- Governments should grant vital, unlimited and interest-free loans to world travel and tourism companies, as well as to small and medium-sized companies, as a stimulus to prevent them from collapsing and losing jobs.
 
3.- Eliminate tariffs and taxes for passengers and the travel industry, with immediate effect and for a recommended period of 12 months.
 
Gloria Guevara Manzo, President and CEO of the WTTC, stated that "more than one hundred countries in the world have implemented specific measures to protect the industry, such as interest-free loans, elimination of certain taxes, as well as quotas and protections aimed at workers "
 
“For a sector that contributes one in ten jobs in the world, it is urgent to make adequate decisions, it is a matter of survival. Travel and tourism workers are being affected daily by hotel closings, flight cancellations, stopped cruises or simply because no one is traveling due to the restrictions of the Covid-19 health crisis, so it is essential to act urgently ”, he explained.
 
Guevara Manzo stressed that if there is no income in tourism companies, there is no cash circulating, there are no resources to pay salaries, much less to pay taxes. Faced with this scenario, small, medium and large entrepreneurs in the tourism sector cannot face this crisis alone.
 
This panorama, he said, affects equally entrepreneurs, waiters and independent workers such as tourist guides or drivers, who as a whole are part of a large machinery that contributes 10 percent of the world Gross Domestic Product.
 
From the perspective of the WTTC, the countries that are protecting their sector and their workers will be the first to get ahead in this crisis, once the coronavirus health emergency has been overcome.
 
“We don't know when this nightmare will end, nor when the recovery will begin. What we do know is that if we do not learn from best practices and take care of this valuable sector, when the time is right there will be nothing to reactivate and the social and economic impact will take years to recover. We must learn from past experiences, listen to experts and, above all, carry out specific actions for the benefit of the sector. It is not an expense, it is an investment to avoid the collapse of the tourism industry and the countries, "said Guevara Manzo.
 
The WTTC points out that it is too early to talk about the recovery from this unprecedented crisis, and what is clear is that not all countries will recover at the same time. Everything will depend on the measures taken now and the actions implemented to shield the tourism sector.
 
Some destinations and countries will be ready for a faster recovery, and for those who have deteriorated their sector due to lack of support and concrete actions, it will cost much more work, it will take much longer.