Coronavirus leaves tour operators distraught

About 30 per cent of the staff employed by tour operators in the country may lose jobs if the coronavirus pandemic does not subside anytime soon, according to various tour operations.

Besides, the other sectors involved with Bangladesh's tourism industry such as hotels, resorts, restaurants and airlines will also face a similar situation if the condition remains the same, they said.

"I can tell you for certain that each company will have to go for the golden handshake with 30 per cent of their staff members. If this situation continues, we will not survive for long," said Md Rafeuzzaman, president of the Tour Operators Association of Bangladesh (TOAB).

Rafeuzzaman made these remarks during a press conference styled 'Effect of Coronavirus on Bangladesh Tourism Industry and BTTF-2020', organised by TOAB at the Jatiya Press Club yesterday.

The association also postponed its biggest programme of the year, the 'Bangladesh Travel and Tourism Fair (BTTF)', to October 29-31 due to the looming coronavirus threat.

Tourism boards and agencies from several countries usually participate in the fair, which was supposed to be held in Dhaka on April 3-5.

TOAB also called for numerous steps to be taken in order to publicise the country's popular tourist spots.

This includes providing special incentives and loans at low interest rates for tour operators, reducing taxes levied on travellers, the removal of 'unnecessary restrictions' at airports and increased funds.

On March 13, the World Travel and Tourism Council said that up to 50 million jobs in the travel and tourism sector are at risk due to the global COVID-19 outbreak.

The global travel sector could drop by as much as 25 per cent in 2020, according to data from the WTTC, which represents the world's private travel and tourism industry.

This is equivalent to there being no travel worldwide for three months and this could lead to a corresponding reduction in jobs by about 12 or 14 per cent, the WTTC said.

As of 9:00am GMT yesterday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases worldwide stood at 1.68 lakh, while 6,501 people across 142 countries have already succumbed to the novel virus, according to a tally complied by AFP.

Three new individuals were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Bangladesh yesterday, raising the current number of confirmed cases in the country to five. However, three people who were infected previously have made full recoveries, officials said.

PAINTING A GRIM PICTURE

China, Japan, Singapore, India and Italy are big markets for both outbound and inbound tour operators in Bangladesh. Therefore, their businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus issue, Rafeuzzaman said.

About 80 per cent of Bangladeshi tourists have cancelled their travel packages for various hotspots such as Nepal, Bhutan, Singapore and Thailand.

Similarly, many foreign tourists cancelled their scheduled trips to Bangladesh, resulting in huge losses for TOAB members, he said, adding that the pandemic came at peak tourist season.

Domestic tourism also went on the decline after authorities advised against public gatherings and use of public transport.

Although other industries have badly been hit by fallout from the coronavirus, the tourism industry is the worst affected.

"The crisis in the tourism sector will have an adverse effect on employment in the country," Rafeuzzaman said.

After the press conference, this correspondent asked the TOAB president about how many people are involved with the tourism industry in Bangladesh and how they would deal with the situation.

While not going into specifics, Rafeuzzaman said that TOAB has 800 members, who on average employ about 40 people each, bringing the total number up to 32,000.

If the situation does not improve, the operators will have to let go of 25 to 30 per cent of their employees, he said.

Citing the WTTC's 2019 report, Taufiq Rahman, former vice president of TOAB, told The Daily Star that about 13 lakh people are directly involved in Bangladesh's tourism sector, while another 18 lakh are employed indirectly.

TOAB is working with a research organisation and as per its preliminary estimate, revenue generation from tourism and other related sectors, such as aviation and hotels, was supposed to be Tk 4,500 to 5,000 crore in the February-April period of this year.

A majority of this turnover will be adversely affected if the coronavirus situation does not improve soon, said Rahman, who is also the secretary general of PATA BD Chapter.

Inbound tourism alone will face a loss of Tk 100 crore in the February-April window, while the loss of outbound tourism will be far worse, he added.

The tourism sector is one of the worst affected by the global coronavirus outbreak, said Jabed Ahmed, chief executive officer of the Bangladesh Tourism Board.

The government has already formed a crisis management committee for the tourism sector to identify the problems the industry faces while also providing recommendations for remedies.

Led by Ahmed, the committee is comprised of related stakeholders, including TOAB, he added.

TOAB Directors Anwar Hossain and Mohammed Shahed Ullah also spoke during the press conference.