Agency: Coronavirus impact on travel industry 9 times worse than 9/11
The coronavirus’ impact on the travel industry is nine times worse than the aftermath of 9/11, the US Travel Association said Monday.
“By the end of April, declines in travel will cause 8 million jobs to be lost out of approximately 24 million for the entire U.S. economy,” the group said, adding travel spending losses are on track to top half a trillion dollars by the end of 2020.
An analysis by Tourism Economics found overall travel spending last week plunged to $2.9 billion — an 85 percent drop since the first week of March and 87 percent lower than the same week in 2019, the group said.
Among other recommendations, the association said it is urging Congress to appropriate an additional $600 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program and extend the coverage period through December.