Mott MacDonald | Unlocking Opportunities for the Private Sector in Nepal Promoting greener and more inclusive growth
4.3
Tourism sector: impact of measures taken to curb COVID-19
Impact on sales. All of the respondents had sales between “U $ 100,000 and U $ 1 million” in 2020. About 8% of the respondents indicated an increase in isales in 2020 over 2019 while 69% reported a decline in revenue. About 23% of the respondents were in the same isales level as in 2019.
Figure 18. Breakdown of respondents in the Tourism Sector by annual sales: 2017, 2019, and 2020 Reduction in GDP contribution. Although there were a few respondents who were able to quickly shift their marketing to target domestic tourists and, thus, were able to sustain or increase their revenues in 2020 over 2019 figures, the general trend was a decline in sales. Contribution of the tourism sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) decreased from US$ 2,089 million in 2019 to US$ 1,114.7 million in 2020 (WTTC 2021) or a decline of 47%. Impact on workers and jobs. All of the respondents said that they cut down the number of employees. Informal and seasonal workers were among the first who lost their jobs. Permanent employees faced either pay cuts or an unpaid leave. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, 207,000 workers in tourism establishments in Nepal lost their jobs in 2020. Number of workers employed in the tourism sector decreased from 1.042 million in 2019 to 0.835 million in 2020 (WTTC 2021) or a decline of 20%.
Figure 19. Breakdown of respondents in the Tourism Sector by number of workers, 2017 & 2021
The following were the key disruptions and shocks experienced by the tourism industry, which led to decline in sales and number of workers:
February 2022
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