Egypt’s tourism losses in 2020 are worth between $12bn-$13bn

Published on : Tuesday, April 6, 2021

Egypt’s expected losses from tourism in 2020 are worth between $12bn-$13bn, according to Ehab Abdel Aal, Treasurer of the Cultural Tourism Association.

Abdel Aal said that though there has been no official statement by the Egyptian Government regarding the size of the losses, it can be expected soon.

“Egypt’s income from tourism was $16bn annually, but in 2020, Egypt only achieved $2.5bn, in the months of January and February,” Abdel Aal said, “So this makes the expected losses between $12bn and $13bn.”

The WTTC has revealed in its latest report that the global Travel and Tourism sector suffered $4.5trn in losses during 2020, in the wake of the novel corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Overall, tourism’s contribution to global GDP declined to $4.7trn in 2020, representing 5.5% of the global economy, from nearly $9.2trn, or 10.4%, in the previous year.

In 2020, as the pandemic ripped through the heart of Travel and Tourism, more than 62 million jobs were lost, representing a drop of 18.5%. This left a total of around 272 million unemployed across the industry globally.

These jobs losses were felt across the entire Travel and Tourism ecosystem, with small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), comprising 80% of all businesses in the sector, especially affected.

Also, as one of the world’s most diverse sectors, the impact on women, youth, and minorities was noteworthy.
The WTTC has praised governments around the world for their prompt response. However, the global tourism body remains apprehensive that governments cannot continue to support threatened jobs for an indefinite period, and must instead turn to the sector to help its recovery.