Who Depends on Tourists?

---

The entire world seems to depend on tourism. It has become painfully obvious during this shelter in place around the world. From GZero: Few sectors of the global economy are immune from pandemic-induced economic pain right now, but some find comfort in the fact they will bounce-back in the near or medium-term. The travel business, which has been brought to a standstill as billions of people have been forced to stay home, may not be one of those lucky industries. As social distancing will likely remain a reality until a COVID-19 vaccine is made available – a process that could still take 12-18 months – people's appetite to take foreign holidays is unlikely to bounce back in a big way. And many countries will keep their borders closed to non-residents for months to come, as fears of contagion persist. This is a huge blow for countries that rely on tourism to pump cash into their economies. Travel contributed a whopping $8.8 trillion to the global economy in 2018 and was responsible for 10.4 percent of all economic activity around the world. So, which large economies stand to lose the most from the tourism downturn? Take a look.From the AP:
In separate stark warnings, two major European leaders bluntly told their citizens that the world needs to adapt to living with the coronavirus and cannot wait to be saved by a vaccine.

“We are confronting this risk, and we need to accept it, otherwise we would never be able to relaunch,” Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte said, acceding to a push by regional leaders to allow restaurants, bars and beach facilities to open Monday, weeks ahead of an earlier timetable.

The warnings from Conte and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson came as governments worldwide and many U.S. states struggled with restarting economies blindsided by the pandemic. In the U.S., images of crowded bars, beaches and boardwalks suggested some weren’t heeding warnings to safely enjoy reopened spaces while limiting the risks of spreading infection.
So, who to believe? I want to travel as much as the next person. From the Verge:
Grocery store sales of products like Beyond Meat and Tofurky were up 264 percent during a nine-week period ending on May 2nd, according to Nielsen (via The Wall Street Journal). Overall, retail sales plunged 16.4 percent from March to April. The popularity of faux few Scotch on the rocks lately, in addition to my regular bubblies, and still wine. I have consumed fewer beers for some reason. Maybe that will change during the long, hot summer? The National Association of American Wineries reports that in 2018, the world consumed 6.5 billion gallons of wine. Of that, the U.S. drank the most — 872 million gallons. We have been the world's leading consumer of wine since 2011, in fact. It's probably no surprise that California makes the most wine in the U.S. — about 80% of it. The Wine Institute reports that 85% of the wine in California is produced in a certified sustainable winery. The next leading states, in order of production, are Washington, New York, Oregon, and Texas. Forbes has a new drinking game:
"I didn’t think of it at the time, but I probably should have created a drinking game to help pass the time.


Drink if Trump is late to his own press conference;Drink every time Trump refers to the coronavirus as the “invisible enemy;” Drink whenever Trump calls a reporter “fake news;”Is Dr. Anthony Fauci missing from the briefing? Take another drink. "

Enough said about fake food and alcohol. Just stay safe, stay well, but mostly, stay happy, even if it takes a cocktail or two at dinner time.

---