Stats: Travel Lost $1.1 Trillion in U.S. Economic Output in 2020

Travel’s economic footprint in the United States shrank a staggering 42 percent last year, from $2.6 trillion to $1.5 trillion, according to new end-of-year totals prepared for the U.S. Travel Association by the research firm Tourism Economics. The employment devastation was similarly massive: Travel-supported jobs fell by 5.6 million in 2020 (16.7 million to 11.1 million)—that’s 65 percent of all American jobs lost to the economic fallout of the pandemic. Travel and tourism had supported employment for 11 percent of the U.S. workforce prior to the onset of COVID.

The new data on travel’s losses arrives as hundreds of industry leaders from across the country meet virtually on Wednesday with members of Congress for Destination Capitol Hill, the U.S. Travel Association’s annual legislative fly-in. The nearly 300 virtual meetings between industry leaders and members of Congress will focus on measures to:

  • Provide relief for travel industry businesses 
  • Advance stimulus measures to drive travel demand
  • Position the U.S. to welcome back international travel 
  • Safely restore business travel, meetings and events

“While the gradual progress of vaccinations has provided hope that a turnaround may be on the horizon, it is still unclear when travel demand will be able to fully rebound on its own,” said U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Roger Dow in a press statement. “With the travel industry suffering such a disproportionate share of losses, policymakers need to understand that a nationwide economic recovery effectively hinges on a travel recovery.”

The above policy priorities follow a year of efforts from across the industry to secure crucial emergency relief for all sectors of travel—without which many of the sector’s job losses may become permanent. Current bills with support from U.S. Travel include the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act of 2021 and the Hospitality and Commerce Job Recovery Act of 2021.

Source: U.S. Travel Association

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