adminHerald Reporter
THE international air transport and tourism industry is seeking US$10 billion in aid for Africa’s tourism industry including access to grant financing and cash-flow assistance, deferral of existing loan repayments and immediate support with minimal application processes and without impediment from normal credit checks.
The appeal on behalf of Africa’s travel and tourism sector was made to the international community by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA.
The five organisations, in a statement from Geneva on Wednesday, said without this urgent aid the tourism industry in Africa would collapse taking with it millions of jobs.
Travel and tourism contributes US$169 billion a year to the total African economy, about 7,1 percent of the continent’s gross domestic product and provides quality jobs for 24,6 million Africans, with eight million of these likely to be lost through Covid-19 alone.
While some African governments were providing targeted and temporary support to their travel and tourism sectors, many did not have the needed resources.
Around 80 percent of the travel and tourism sector was small and medium business, but the entire sector was facing mounting losses as travel and tourism were restricted or stopped by the measures taken across the world to limit the spread of Covid-19.
International support would allow quicker economic recovery, especially in the airline industry, a critical component of trade in the continent and necessary for any recovery.
Online Reporter