Nearly all segments of the U.S. economy seem to be shrinking, if not collapsing, but one of the hardest hit will be the travel industry.
After all, how soon do you plan to hop on an airplane or head to a bustling theme park?
A new study from the U.S. Travel Association suggests many people won’t be traveling at all the rest of the year. The numbers show they’re certainly not traveling now, or anytime soon.
The analysis done by the USTA and Oxford Economics suggests an overall decline of 45% is expected this year — with revenue down 81% in April and May alone — with the total losses topping $500 billion by the end of December. By the end, the amount of lost revenue generated by travelers will have “nine times the impact of 9/11” on the travel industry, the report said.
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And it’s not just travel companies getting stung. The USTA expects an $80 billion decline in local, state and federal tax revenues generated by travel just this year.
In all, travel will decline the most this month and next: 86% in April and 75% in May.
Experts expect to see a 35% decline in tourism industry revenue in November and December, and that’s not taking into account a strong second wave of the virus that is a concern later this year.
Those declines have USTA projecting 8 million jobs lost by the end of April. Oxford Economics said that would account for about a third of all projected job losses for the month.
International visitors are also expected to stay away from places such as D.C. and other American cities that are usually pretty popular. The decline is expected to hit 54%, and even that number assumes some U.S. regions are able to accept tourists again later this year.
