Investigation of the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism workforce

Abstract

Tourism sector has been adversely affected by the global efforts to keep everyone safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tourism businesses were among the first impacted and is claimed to need a lengthy recovery. Airline companies have grounded their planes, and travel agencies have stopped their operations. Further, most of the food and beverage businesses and most of the hotels had to interrupt their activities because of the closure of the borders and travel restrictions. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecasts that up to 75 million jobs are at risk in the sector (WTTC, 2020). In this context, this section will examine the effects of the COVID-19 on the workforce in the tourism industry. Accordingly, the effects of Covid-19 on tourism workforce and layoff statistics will be investigated. Several recommendations are offered. © Dogan Gursoy, Mehmet Sarıışık, Robin Nunkoo and Erhan Boğan 2021.