‘No deal’ risks 300,000 UK travel and tourism jobs, says WTTC
Over 300,00 jobs could be at risk in the travel and tourism sector in the UK and almost 400,000 in Europe if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on March 29, according to new analysis from the World Travel & Tourism Council released today.
According to WTTC, which represents the private sector of travel and tourism globally, the industry contributes more than 1.5 trillion euros to EU’s GDP (10.3% of total) and supports 27.3 million jobs (11.7% of total).
In the UK, the sector contributes £213.8 billion to GDP (10.5% of total) and supports 4 million jobs (11.6% of total).
The WTTC analysis models the impact on the travel and tourism sector over the next decade, based on the 7.7% forecasted fall in economic activity across the wider UK economy modelled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this situation, a no deal Brexit would result in a loss of over 308,000 jobs in the UK economy and a loss of 399,000 jobs in the rest of the other EU countries.
In monetary terms, this equates to a loss of £18.6 billion in GDP to the UK economy and loss of £22.0 billion to the economies of the other EU countries.
To minimise the impact, WTTC said it is crucial the UK should continue to have access to the Single Aviation Market and that visa-free travel between the UK and EU should be maintained and the movement of people should be as seamless as possible while maintaining security.
The WTTC adds mobility of labour for travel and tourism employees across Europe and the UK should continue and security co-operation to avoid hard border checks and lengthy delays is paramount.
WTTC president and CEO Gloria Guevara said: "The UK is the fifth largest travel and tourism economy in the world. Given its importance of the UK economy it is now clear that a no deal Brexit would have a dramatic impact on one the UK’s most important economic sectors.
"If the IMF prediction on the wider economy is realised, there would be a total cost across Europe of over £40 billion and over 700,000 jobs compared to our projections. Our members are already seeing an impact on their businesses and workforce."
Lisa
Lisa joined Travel Weekly nearly 25 years ago as technology reporter and then sailed around the world for a couple of years as cruise correspondent, before becoming deputy editor. Now freelance, Lisa writes for various print and web publications, edits Corporate Traveller’s client magazine, Gateway, and works on the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series of photography books, which raise awareness of nature’s most at-risk species and helps to fund their protection.
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