Impacts of COVID-19 on selected tourism industry branches 1


Transport and tour operators



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 Aviation 

Airlines have had to drastically reduce and in some cases ground their fleets and cease their activities, with extreme impacts on the short-term on employees and dependant activities. International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) estimates, as of 8 May, indicate that the fall in scheduled international passenger traffic during 2020, will equate to a reduction of between 44 to 80% of international passengers21. Airports Council International, as of 5 May, estimates that the crisis will result in a reduction of 4.6 billion passengers in 2020. This will have a knock on effect on airports, which could face a global loss of USD 97 billion22. IATA expects recovery in air travel to lag economic recovery, with no uptick before 202123. Some airlines which had grounded flights, such as Ryanair, have announced plans to restart flight operations at a reduced capacity24, while Emirate is has introduced COVID-19 testing prior to boarding25 


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Cruise 

Cruise lines have faced the double challenge of ensuring visitor and worker safety, as some cruises were not able to disembark and repatriate clients, and losses in bookings and revenues. In the United States, a no-sail order had been extended until July26. Following an extended period where a number of cruise ships remained at sea while seeking to secure permission to berth and disembark passengers, as of 6 April CLIA reported that only seven of its members’ cruise ships remain at sea on their way to port27. 


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Railways

As people movement is limited or discouraged, including in countries which are easing restrictions, railways are seeing significant drops in revenues and passengers. 


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Tour operators 

Tour operators have reduced or halted operations until further notice as the pace at which the situation evolved increased organisational complexity, across administrative boundaries. Having suspended all activities from mid-March until mid-May at the earliest, TUI Group announced on 13 May it was ready to resume activities and indicated that forward-bookings for summer 2021 were performing strongly 





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