30 000 tourism jobs in jeopardy
ELLANIE SMIT
WINDHOEK
The tourism industry is already feeling the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, and predictions indicate it will only get worse.
About 30 000 job losses are expected in the next two to three months.
The total expected revenue loss within the industry could be anything from N$15 billion to N$18 billion, while the number could be even higher should the crisis continue for longer than three months.
This is according to a document submitted to finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi this week by the chairperson of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (Fenata), Bernd Schneider.
“The total expected job losses will be approximately 30 000 directly from the tourism industry alone if no significant incentives and economic stimuli are introduced as a matter of urgency,” Schneider said.
The association said the impact on indirect employment will also be significant, but at this stage, this is difficult to quantify as other business opportunities might arise.
According to the document, revenue generated from tourism in 2019 was between N$22 billion to N$25 billion, contributing between 11% to 15% to the Gross Domestic Product in the country.
It said approximately 47 000 people are directly employed in the sector, and tourism contributes to about 20% of the country's total labour force.
Schneider pointed out that when the coronavirus first appeared and international media warned it could reach a global pandemic level, many potential tourists put their travel plans on halt.
This resulted in significant booking reductions for the months of January and February, where tourism entities saw a booking decline of approximately 40% in comparison to last year.
Travel ban
He further stated that now that Namibia has restricted travel for 21 days, most tourism enterprises will be without income.
“Since travel bans both locally and internationally affect the movement of people, the best assumption is that tourism enterprises will see customers returning again at best in June, but probably only much later than that.”
Schneider added that for most tourism enterprises, the biggest operating cost is staff related.
“The sad reality is that many companies have already started retrenching staff or will still do so as they simply no longer have the capital to support their staff structures for one additional month.”
According to Schneider, the most affected tourism employees include tour guides, waiters and cleaners.
Several measures have been proposed to government for urgent implementation to assist the industry. These include zero-interest loans, flexible employment conditions, temporarily dropping company tax and introducing high dividend tax, amongst others.
WINDHOEK
The tourism industry is already feeling the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, and predictions indicate it will only get worse.
About 30 000 job losses are expected in the next two to three months.
The total expected revenue loss within the industry could be anything from N$15 billion to N$18 billion, while the number could be even higher should the crisis continue for longer than three months.
This is according to a document submitted to finance minister Ipumbu Shiimi this week by the chairperson of the Federation of Namibian Tourism Associations (Fenata), Bernd Schneider.
“The total expected job losses will be approximately 30 000 directly from the tourism industry alone if no significant incentives and economic stimuli are introduced as a matter of urgency,” Schneider said.
The association said the impact on indirect employment will also be significant, but at this stage, this is difficult to quantify as other business opportunities might arise.
According to the document, revenue generated from tourism in 2019 was between N$22 billion to N$25 billion, contributing between 11% to 15% to the Gross Domestic Product in the country.
It said approximately 47 000 people are directly employed in the sector, and tourism contributes to about 20% of the country's total labour force.
Schneider pointed out that when the coronavirus first appeared and international media warned it could reach a global pandemic level, many potential tourists put their travel plans on halt.
This resulted in significant booking reductions for the months of January and February, where tourism entities saw a booking decline of approximately 40% in comparison to last year.
Travel ban
He further stated that now that Namibia has restricted travel for 21 days, most tourism enterprises will be without income.
“Since travel bans both locally and internationally affect the movement of people, the best assumption is that tourism enterprises will see customers returning again at best in June, but probably only much later than that.”
Schneider added that for most tourism enterprises, the biggest operating cost is staff related.
“The sad reality is that many companies have already started retrenching staff or will still do so as they simply no longer have the capital to support their staff structures for one additional month.”
According to Schneider, the most affected tourism employees include tour guides, waiters and cleaners.
Several measures have been proposed to government for urgent implementation to assist the industry. These include zero-interest loans, flexible employment conditions, temporarily dropping company tax and introducing high dividend tax, amongst others.
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