East African Community suffers massive tourism and job loss

1. 2.1 million jobs have been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the East African Community.
2. Loss to tourism and hospitality reported at US$4.8 billion.
3. Visitors to wildlife parks declined significantly by about 65 percent, causing a negative impact on wildlife conservation in the region.

The East African Business Council (EABC) sent a shocking report that showed a loss of 2.1 million jobs in tourism among the 6 member states of the East African Community (EAC) when the world is celebrating International Labour Day. EAC member states are Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.

The EABC study reported a loss of US$4.8 billion in the tourism and hospitality industry caused by the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, mostly in key tourist source markets of Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.

“This period had observed a dip of about 2 million jobs, from about 4.1 million jobs recorded in 2019 to 2.2 million jobs by the end of 2020,” said the study.