Tourism ministers of the Group of 20 major economies agreed on Friday to explore capacity programs in the tourism industry to help the global economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
“We will explore opportunities such as capacity building programs in travel and tourism to help the world economy recover, and help the sector become more inclusive, robust, and resilient,” the ministers said in a statement after holding their first extraordinary meeting hosted by the group's current president Saudi Arabia.
The G20 Tourism Working Group was also tasked with finding ways to stimulate a recovery in the sector, the statement said following the virtual meeting.
The ministers tasked the Group ahead of the tourism ministers’ meeting in Saudi Arabia on October 7, “to identify challenges to the sector that have arisen from the crisis, to develop and share further targeted responses to stimulate recovery, and to identify ways to improve resiliency in the sector.”
“Travel and tourism is one of the most heavily affected sectors by the COVID-19 pandemic, with preliminary estimates from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicating a 45% decline in international tourism in 2020, which could rise to 70% if recovery efforts are delayed until September,” said the statement.
“The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has estimated that up to 75 million jobs are at risk in this labor-intensive sector,” it added.
