The streets of the old town of Hoi An, a World Heritage Site in Vietnam, are empty Bloomberg News quoted a new study by the International Labor Organization as saying that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, tourism has stalled. Last year, nearly one-third of the total number of unemployed persons in the four Southeast Asian countries was related to tourism, an estimated 160 Ten thousand jobs disappeared on November 18th. Data from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei show that the number of unemployed in tourism-related industries in 2020 is four times that of non-tourism industries,…
Since the Covid-19 pandemic has brought the tourism industry to a halt, nearly one-third of the total number of unemployed persons in the four Southeast Asian countries last year was related to tourism, and an estimated 1.6 million jobs have disappeared. Bloomberg News A new study published by the International Labour Organization on November 18 is cited.
The United Nations labor agency said in the report that data from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei show that the number of unemployed in tourism-related industries in 2020 is four times that of non-tourism industries.
“Even if the countries in the region attach great importance to vaccination and develop strategies to slowly reopen their borders, by next year, the employment and working hours of tourism-related sectors in Asia-Pacific countries may still be lower than the pre-crisis figures. Regional Director Chihoko Asada-Miyakawa said.
Brunei hit hardest
In percentage terms, Brunei was the hardest hit, with employment and average working hours in the tourism industry shrinking by about 40% and 21% respectively last year. It is also the country with the largest difference in employment losses between tourism and non-tourism related sectors.
In the Philippines, employment in this sector fell by 28%, while employment in non-tourism-related sectors fell by 8%. The number of unemployed tourist workers has increased by 2,000 times.
Vietnam, Thailand tourism industry wages plummet
In Vietnam, the average tourist wage has fallen by nearly 18%, and the decline for female employees is even higher, close to 23%.
In Thailand, as workers shifted to low-paying jobs, average wages in the tourism industry fell by 9.5%, while average working hours fell by 10%. In the first quarter of 2021, with the exception of food and beverage service activities, employment in all tourism-related sub-sectors in the country was lower than the number before the Covid 19 pandemic.
