Many countries have enacted border restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, devastating the tourism industry. Lifetour, one of the oldest travel agencies in Taiwan, has announced it will streamline its organization and lay off personnel.


The domestic tourism industry is slowly reviving now that the COVID-19 situation is improving. However, there are many countries that have maintained border restrictions, affecting the overall tourism industry. Lifetour, one of the oldest travel agencies in Taiwan, issued a press release saying that tourism restrictions have been extended to the end of July and the future situation is still unclear. There is no light at the end of the tunnel yet for international tourism, and therefore it is planning to streamline its organization and lay off up to 20 percent of its staff, or around 120 employees. The agency indicated this does not constitute a mass layoff. Meanwhile, four Lion Travel senior executives successively retired, and the chairperson will concurrently serve as the general manager. The agency said that isn't considered to be a labor reduction.

Lion Travel has not laid off a single employee since the epidemic began.

The fact is that prospects for the travel and tourism industry remain wintry. New Ministry of Labor statistics on unpaid leave show an additional 106 companies and 1,311 people on unpaid leave compared to the previous week. Of the 106 companies, 80 percent, or 83, are in Taipei. The majority are in the transport, aviation, and warehousing industries.

The effect is greater on Taipei. Its entire tourism industry chain, including accommodations; food and beverage; wholesale and retail; and souvenir gifts to a certain extent, has been affected. There are some travel agencies that have also been affected.

There have also been cases of mass layoffs that reflect the dire situation faced by the tourism sector. There were 29 cases in May affecting a total of 1,058 workers. The majority were employed by small- and medium-sized enterprises. The number of cases was fewer than the 56 in April, but rose compared to the same period last year. The Mandarin Oriental Taipei laid off the highest number of employees, 212.



國內疫情趨緩，國旅逐漸回溫，但國境持續封鎖，觀光旅遊業仍大受衝擊，老牌旅行社五福，發新聞稿指出，觀光禁令將延長到七月底，後續疫情仍不明朗，國際旅遊仍看不到曙光，因此公司打算精簡組織，縮減人員20%以下、約120人以下，但表示尚未達到大量解僱。而雄獅旅遊也出現四位高階主管陸續退休，總經理職務將由董事長兼任，但雄獅強調這並非精簡人力。

雄獅發言人 游國珍表示：「雄獅，從疫情發生以來，並沒有資遣任何一個員工。」

事實上，旅遊觀光業仍在寒冬之中，勞動部公布最新減班休息、俗稱無薪假統計，相較於前一個禮拜，新增加106家單位、1311人，其中83家、8成集中在台北市，運輸、航空、倉儲等相關產業，哀鴻遍野。

勞動部勞動條件及就業平等司副司長 黃維琛表示：「對我們台北市來說，是影響比較大的。它整個在觀光的產業鏈，包括住宿、餐飲，包括批發零售、有些伴手禮，那還有一些旅行社等等，它都是受到影響的。」

除了無薪假，最新大量解僱的統計，也看得出觀光旅遊業的慘況，五月分有29件通報、共1058人，多以中小企業為主，相較四月份的56件，呈現下降，但跟去年同期相比還是增加，其中以五星級酒店文華東方，大量解僱212人最多。