This is according to a new online tool that is tracking layoffs and furloughs in the industry on a global scale.

The Global Travel Staffing Barometer, which was created by advisory and analytics firm videc, estimates that 100 companies around the world have either laid off or furloughed a total of 537,990 people and that two-thirds of those cuts have happened since mid-March.

The travel industry is crumbling before our eyes

Data is compiled from company announcements, news reports and updates from those affected.

“The travel industry is crumbling before our eyes with more than half a million layoffs in less than a month. Amid the global spread of the pandemic, companies of all shapes and sizes – from the billion-dollar valued to startups – are trimming costs, disbanding, and letting go off their most precious asset – the workforce,” said Virendra Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of videc. “The Global Travel Staffing Barometer quantifies the discharged staff and aims to become the central hub for tracking the loss of human resources and, in time, will offer the first glimpses for the road to recovery for the travel industry.”

It is shocking to see the scale of the impact Covid-19 is having on industries worldwide. We at ITIJ only hope that the travel and tourism industry will be able to come back stronger than ever before.

You can access the barometer here.