The international ticket sales for the first half of the year has now lost around P20.3 billion compared to the same period last year, according to the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA).
Ritchie Tuaño, president of PTAA, said the amount is only reflected in the international tickets issuance alone from January to June this year.
Based on the data generated through the International Air Transport Association’s Billing and Settlement Plan (IATA-BSP) Philippines, the first six months of the year only earned P8,499,315,453, down by almost 70 percent from the P28,893,290,557 earnings in international ticket sales in 2019.
The massive slump in figures was first recorded in March with about 80 percent drop in sales compared to the same month last year. This came after the government imposed the Luzon-wide lockdown on March 16, with air travel included in the transport restrictions.
The continuing standstill in the tourism industry also led to the temporary closure of 419 out of the 439 PTAA member travel agencies across the Philippines, with around 200 employees who have been laid off from their jobs.
Like other workers, Tuano said some member travel agencies, including the operators and managers, have temporarily shifted to retailing jobs online to cope with the impact of the crisis.