First to be hit by the pandemic and last to recover, the travel and tourism industry is considered to be one of the most severely affected sectors. The paper tries to highlight the vulnerabilities of GDP, employment and related activities of the tourism sector by looking at it through a macro perspective using data from the World Bank, International Labour Organization, the United Nations World Trade Organization and, the World Travel and Tourism Council, in addition, substantiating the results through micro evidences in the form of case studies. The paper, using quantitative and qualitative methods, shows that GDP, employment and related activities are susceptible to the pandemic- COVID-19 and suggests how to pandemic-proof the sector that not only contributes significantly to GDP but weaves the thread of interconnectedness across the world.
The Travel and Tourism Industry: Pandemic and Beyond