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More than 100 million jobs could return to the global tourism sector during 2021, as the world recovers from the crippling Covid-19 pandemic.
That is according to the latest research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
A strong summer of travel is expected as the sector begins its road to recovery from late March onwards, with many major travel companies reporting a significant rise in forward bookings.
The revival is backed by the latest economic forecasts from the WTTC, which give further hope for the year ahead to businesses and millions of people employed in the sector worldwide.
Last year, during the height of the pandemic, WTTC warned 174 million global tourism jobs were at risk.

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However, in its latest analysis, the body’s most optimistic scenario predicts as many as 111 million jobs could be revived – but this would still be 17 per cent below 2019 figures, accounting for 54 million fewer jobs.
This best-case scenario, with travel recovery starting from late March, factors in widespread vaccination programmes and a swift adoption of comprehensive test-and-trace regimes, together with continual, strong international coordination from the private and public sectors.
However, the forecast’s more conservative outcome would still see a return of 84 million jobs, but this would be 25 per cent below 2019 levels, with 82 million fewer jobs recovered.
Under this scenario, the recovery of international travel is pushed to the second half of 2021.
Vaccines would be rolled out more gradually, slowing down the removal of worldwide travel barriers and restrictions currently in place, while depressing demand to travel and reducing consumer confidence.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC chief executive, said: “We are looking forward to a strong summer of travel, thanks to a combination of mask wearing, the global vaccination rollout and testing on departure unlocking the door to international travel once more.
“Our latest research supports this and shows there is definitely hope on the horizon for the global tourism sector in the year ahead, with the possible recovery of up to 111 million jobs.”
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The executive council of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has expressed its continued support for secretary general Zurab Pololikashvili.
Meeting in Madrid, members nominated him to continue leading the agency for four more years.
At the end of the 113th session of the executive council, held as a hybrid event in Spanish capital, members voted in person and in secret for their choice of leader for 2022-2025.
Incumbent Pololikashvili won 76 per cent of the votes in a process where the kingdom of Bahrain also put forward a candidate for the position, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa.

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Her excellency congratulated Pololikashvili on his win and the government of Bahrain expressed its support for UNWTO.
Pololikashvili had based his campaign for re-election both on the progressive institutional and policy reforms undertaken during his first term, and on his clear leadership of global tourism throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The recommendation will be carried forward to the 24th session of the UNWTO general assembly, due to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, towards the end of the year.
In Madrid, both the president of the government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and king Felipe VI expressed their support for UNWTO and its leadership.
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The tourism industry is calling on the government to give more detail on how travel restrictions will be lifted if Covid-19 is brought under control in the UK.
ABTA chief executive, Mark Tanzer, said: “As news continues to emerge of new variants of the virus developing overseas, along with the significant number of cases and deaths in the UK, it is understandable that the government wants to take every step necessary to prevent the spread of the virus.
“The pre-departure testing for passengers entering the UK, originally due to come into force tomorrow but now delayed for England until Monday, is a clear example of this.
“It joins a myriad of other measures which if still in place when more people start to travel would be confusing, expensive and logistically difficult for customers.
“It would also serve as a barrier to travel putting many people off booking in the first place.”

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Authorities earlier confirmed pre-departure Covid-19 testing would not begin until Monday, while also announcing arrivals from South America will be severely curtailed. 
However, the restrictions are worrying for the tourism sector in the longer-term, Tanzer said.
He added: “It is worth pointing out that the government hasn’t given any confirmation that pre-departure testing will be removed once international travel opens up more widely – only that it will be reviewed as we come towards the end of this lockdown.
“What the industry needs to hear from government is a clear plan for recovery.
“We currently have travel corridors, quarantine, testing on departure to the UK, testing to reduce quarantine and advice against travel to whole countries all in place – not to mention the various restrictions overseas countries place on UK tourists. 
“This situation is not a viable way to open up the travel market and get people travelling again.”
Tanzer, and the wider travel industry, are now calling on the government to use existing structures to plot a course out of the shutdown.
He added: “We are asking the government to use the global travel taskforce structure to convene specific working groups to look at these very issues, as well as what the rollout of the UK vaccine will mean for future overseas travel.
“We hope this will lead to a roadmap which can be used to drive future policy for business and leisure travel and get people moving again.
“We also continue to press the UK government on the need for tailored financial support for the sector and are speaking to destinations about their plans, including regarding UK travellers who are vaccinated, as well as their own country vaccination programs.”
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Holiday company Saga has experienced a notable increase in interest for holidays in recent weeks.
This comes as those aged over 50, who will likely receive the Covid-19 vaccine ahead of some younger groups, look ahead to future trips.
Saga said it had noted growth in the number of people booking long-haul and ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ trips.
Bookings for 2022 are up over 90 per cent on the same period last year, suggesting an appetite to travel, the company added.

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People also seem to want to go away for longer, with bookings up from a previous average of 13 to 18 days – a nearly 40 per cent increase.
There has also been a 16 per cent increase in traffic to the Saga website, with a 98 per cent increase in conversion to sales – suggesting those searching for trips are now more confident to book.
Chris Simmonds, Saga chief executive of holidays, has said that the people over 50 are “hungry to travel”, with once-in-a-lifetime trips next winter to destinations such as Uzbekistan and Uganda proving particularly popular.
He added that Saga’s customers are “very adventurous and thinking about spoiling themselves”.
UK and Ireland trips are also seeing an increase in interest.
Titan Travel
Titan Travel has noted similar trends.
Despite having only just said goodbye to 2020, bookings for next year are beginning to take-off, with the company announcing one of its 2022 tours – Wild Costa Rica – has already sold out, 13 months prior to departure.
Andy Squirrell, managing director, Titan Travel, commented: “Having conducted consumer surveys over summer last year we recognised that travellers are looking ahead to future trips earlier than ever before.
“To help satisfy this increase in demand from early bookers we launched our 2022 worldwide and European product in autumn last year.
“Since the launch we have seen a great uplift in bookings for future holidays, which has led to one of our 2022 tour dates selling out 13 months before departure.
“The vaccine rollout is undoubtedly bringing greater confidence to travellers who are itching to book a holiday and travel once again.”
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Shaika Mai Al-Khalifa from the kingdom of Bahrain will challenge the incumbent, Zurab Pololikashvili, for the role of secretary general of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Pololikashvili was appointed to the role in 2017 and will seek a second three-year mandate during an executive council meeting of the body in Madrid this month.
Al-Khalifa is currently in the Spanish capital for the event, presenting her candidacy for the role.
During her stay, she has met with a wide range of representatives from member states to set out her vision for the future of the tourism sector.
Last year was a hugely challenging one for tourism, with international arrivals falling by 72 per cent over the first ten months of 2020.
The sector was hit by restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence and a global struggle to contain the Covid-19 virus, all of which contributed to the worst year on record in the history of tourism.
According to the latest tourism data from the UNWTO, destinations welcomed 900 million fewer international tourists between January and October when compared with the same period of 2019.
This translates into a loss of US$935 billion in export revenues from international tourism, more than ten times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic crisis.

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Ahead of the meeting, Al-Khalifa said: “I am enjoying the beautiful city of Madrid, and my visit so far has been very successful.
“I am confidently approaching a winning majority based upon the commitments of those who believe that it is time for a paradigm shift for the tourism sector.”   
Al-Khalifa promised a dynamic and transparent leadership of UNWTO.
In her vision statement, she states that within the first twelve months of her term she will have listened to every member state of the organisation and drafted a strategy based on what the members need.
She also pledges to work tirelessly to secure the resources required to realise those aspirations.
Al-Khalifa added: “I am confident that the tourism sector will recover from this crisis as it has recovered from many previous crises.
“I believe that we need to work closely on the issue of travel protocols, in addition to working with governments on fiscal support schemes.
“It has been extremely difficult due to travel restrictions to travel to the member states and meet the national tourism organisations in person; but I have done the most I could do given the limitation of time and the circumstances of the pandemic.
“I am grateful to the commitment I received from so many countries and look forward to starting a new era.
“We are now confident we have a winning majority to deliver on this mandate.”
The Arab Tourism Ministers’ Council earlier unanimously approved the nomination of Al-Khalifa for the role.
She is currently president of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities (BACA).
More Information
For more information on the 113th executive council meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, set to take place on January 18th-19th in Madrid, head over to the official website.
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