By Maheshika Dissanayake
As the third-largest export sector globally, the tourism industry is severely affected by the unprecedented COVID 19 pandemic. From January to October in 2020, according to UNWTO, loss in the export revenue from the international tourism sector was recorded at US$ 935 billion, which is ten times larger than the loss of the global economic crisis in 2009. Expectantly, it will reduce global GDP by 1.5% to 2.8%, affecting both developed and developing countries’ economies and livelihoods. Global GDP would incur an economic loss of US$ 2 trillion. One out of ten people worldwide depend on the tourism industry directly or indirectly, thus exposing 100 to 120 million direct tourism jobs to risk due to the decline of international tourists’ arrival by 70% to 75%. Consequently, UNWTO predicts that the tourism industry will bounce back to its 1990s level.