Tourism may see millions of job losses after 11 September attack

More
than a million workers in the European hotel and tourism industry could lose
their jobs as a direct consequence of the 11 September attacks on the USA, says
the International Labour Organisation.

A
crisis meeting on 26 October at the ILO’s Geneva headquarters has estimated
that a 10 per cent reduction in global tourism could see 8.8 million people
lose their jobs worldwide.

Of
these, 1.2 million would be within the European Union and 1.1 million in the
USA.

Speaking
about the current situation, ILO director general Juan Somavia said, "We
have already seen hundreds and thousands of lay-offs and expect the long-term
crisis in jobs and enterprises to be even more severe."

By Philip Boucher

www.caterer.com