Almost a quarter of travel industry jobs lost in 2020

Almost a quarter of the jobs in the travel industry were lost in 2020, according to annual research carried out by Reiswerk, an organization tracking employment developments in the travel sector.

In nine months the number of employees in the travel sector fell from almost 15,000 to 11,500 at travel organizations alone. The decline in employment started in March last year and is still evident. Jobs lost in the air travel industry, which is considered to be one of the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, were not included in the figures.

Younger employees up to the age of 25, with a temporary contract, were most affected by the recent developments in this sector with almost half of them losing their jobs. A decrease in the number of new temporary contracts has also been reported, with the number going from 4,300 to 2,000.

The research showed that about 90 percent of the travel organizations in the Netherlands laid off at least 10 of their employees in the past year. The number of new employee hires also fell by 55 percent in 2020 compared to 2019.

Reiswerk did find that many jobs were saved through government support.