According to a new survey, 42 percent of travel agencies and tour operators in the Western Balkans have been cutting costs and firing workers. While 41 percent of them have sufficient resources to maintain normal operations for three months, 20 percent have ceased to function. Given the current circumstances, 72 percent of tourist agencies and operators in the region expect support from their governments to continue once the restrictions caused by the coronary virus are cancelled. One in five trips booked to the Western Balkans in 2020 have already been canceled. It’s a major blow to the region, since the tourist sector contributes 10.2 percent of its GDP with 10.2 percent. Roughly 11.4 percent of all jobs are found in the tourism and travel sector.
