Tourism could lose 9 million jobs

GENEVA -- Nearly 9 million people in the slumping global tourism industry could lose their jobs in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the United Nations labor agency said Wednesday.

In an 18-page report, the International Labor Organization said falling tourist numbers could mean the loss of 8.8 million jobs in the sector, which employs around 207 million people worldwide.

The figure includes 1.1 million job losses in the United States and 1.2 million in the European Union, but the survey said U.S. job cuts could rise as high as 3.8 million, "depending on how travelers react in the coming months."

An ILO-sponsored meeting in Geneva today and Friday will look at ways to ease the impact of the crisis.

In the "best-case scenario," in which there are no more terrorist attacks and the U.S.-led bombing campaign in Afghanistan ends quickly, the industry could halt the decline, said the ILO. But if the war in Afghanistan escalates or terrorists strike again the sector will suffer harder still, the agency said.

The most vulnerable employees in all countries include part-time hotel workers, travel agents, tour guides and retail staff, said the ILO. But their employers, relying on strong and regular cash flows, are also facing a "struggle for their very survival."

Two of the biggest U.S. hotel and travel organizations, Marriott Corporation and the Carlson Companies, have calculated that business fell by up to 40 percent in the month following the attack.

The report said countries like Canada, Mexico and Britain that rely heavily on U.S. tourists are particularly exposed. But the United States is also being hit as foreign visitors from countries like Japan stay away.