The Long Haul

The travel industry navigates through the landscape of a global pandemic.

- SUSAN B. BARNES

It is hard to imagine that when we first heard about COVID-19 last year, anyone could have predicted the immense impact the pandemic would have on global economies and industries and the health and well-being of people all around the world. According to the U.S. Travel Association, the national nonprofit organization representing all components of the U.S. travel industry, pre-pandemic the industry generated $2.6 trillion in economic output and supported 15.8 million jobs. Though travel continues to come back, a year later the industry is still unpacking the impact of the stoppage of travel worldwide and its gradual return.

In its U.S. Travel Forecast released in November 2020, the U.S. Travel Association noted the total travel spending in the United States in 2019 was $1.13 trillion; the forecast for 2020 was $617 billion. Through 2024, the association projects the figure will climb back to its pre-pandemic figures with $1.1 trillion of total travel spending in the United States.

These figures are U.S.-focused, but the impact affects the travel industry worldwide.

That is not to say no one is traveling, however. As people learn how to keep themselves and each other safe in their communities and workplaces, they gain confidence to get back out into the world, too.