TOURISM IN FOCUS BY JESSIE TAYLOR
Travel bans and the economy The road to recovery amid pandemic pressures
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lmost two years after Covid-19 was first declared a global health emergency and pandemic, the travel and tourism industry is still trying to find its feet. The global tourism economy has lost an estimated $4.5-trillion due to travel restrictions, and it has resulted in millions of jobs being shed. Africa has not been immune to the downswing in travel – almost half of those working in tourism on the continent have lost their employment. And the continent is expected to have lost around $170-billion to $253-billion from reduced travel in 2021. DRIVING JOB CREATION Tourism is an important sector for the continent, as it provides income for the protection of natural areas, such as nature reserves and national parks, and creates job opportunities. African states saw an almost 50% decline in travel and tourism GDP – a figure in line with the rest of the world – but the continent was disproportionately affected by job losses. There were around 29.3% of jobs lost (representing 7.2 million jobs) compared to the global average of 21.5%. In the wake of the pandemic, the tourism sector in Africa shed around a third of its jobs and posted a loss of R1.2-trillion. Some countries were more severely impacted than others. In Botswana, the 2020 lockdowns led to about 99% of the country's tourism workforce being temporarily or permanently laid off.
68 | Public Sector Leaders | December • January 2022
