The World Travel & Tourism Council’s annual Economic Impact Report estimates the UK’s travel and tourism GDP fell from £238 billion in 2019, before the pandemic struck, to just £90 billion 12 months later – a 62% fall.
The WTTC estimates the impact has been the loss of 307,000 jobs but warned: “The true picture could be significantly worse” if not for government support, furlough and job protection schemes.
It estimates the number of those employed in the UK travel and tourism sector tumbled from 4.27 million in 2019 to 3.96 million in 2020 – a fall of 7.2%.
