The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the loss of 770,000 jobs in Nigeria’s tourism industry, the Regional Director, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTC), Andrew Brown, said.
He said globally, the industry lost about $4.5trillion as a result of the impact of the deadly virus while speaking at a forum organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The forum was held by its Tourism and Hospitality Industries Thematic group, with the theme, “Repositioning Nigeria’s Tourism and Hospitality sectors for Sustainable Growth and Profitability.”
Brown noted that before the outbreak of COVID-19, travel and tourism accounted for 330 million jobs worldwide and that the figure was projected to grow to 440 million by 2030.
“He, however, noted that about $4.5 trillion was lost by the tourism and hospitality sectors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide and over 770,000 jobs were lost in the sector in Nigeria alone,” the statement read in part.
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He encouraged operators in the industry to adopt safe travel measures and implement protocols that would help travelers feel safe when they travel.
Addressing participants at the forum, a board member of the NESG, Udeme Ufot, said Nigeria was uniquely positioned as an all-year-round tourism destination with a strong domestic tourism sector, rich natural resources and a variety of associated attractions.
He said the NESG was committed to sectoral reforms to fix some of the challenges bedeviling the Nigerian tourism and hospitality industry including the absence of comprehensive databases of operators, nor clear, identifiable sector value chains.
