Latest news with #economicImpact
ABC News
09-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
How many lives do vaccine stockpiles save?
Across the world, governments, foundations, and the private sector fund vaccine stockpiles that are reserved for disease outbreaks in some of the poorest nations. But funding has taken a hit, with the United States recently ending its support for the The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation. Now a new study has measured the economic and human impact of these programs.
Travel Weekly
08-07-2025
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Brand USA funding cut is a red flag: Impact storytelling matters more than ever
The slashing of Brand USA's budget by 80% is a red flag that the travel and tourism industry cannot afford to ignore. It raises a deeper question: Who's telling the story of your destination — and whose stories are policymakers listening to? When federal and state legislators make decisions that defund destination marketing or divert hotel bed tax revenue to other "community-focused" projects, it's often because the true impact of tourism — especially on local economies and underrepresented communities — isn't being told well or at all. Stephanie Jones is founder and CEO of Disrupt for Change and the Diversity Tourism Academy. Glamorous marketing campaigns and record-breaking visitor arrivals may grab headlines, but they rarely resonate with policymakers who are tasked with stewarding public dollars. What does resonate? Economic impact. Community impact. Stories of real businesses and neighborhoods that have directly benefited from tourism investment. But here's the hard truth: If your destination has not been intentional about integrating underrepresented small suppliers and communities into your tourism ecosystem, you will not have these stories to tell when it matters most. Policymakers want to know: • Who benefits when tourism dollars flow into a city or region? • Are those benefits reaching beyond hotel chains, attractions and big-name operators? • Is tourism helping to scale, sustain and create profitability for small businesses and local communities? If your destination cannot confidently point to Black-owned tour operators, local artisan shops, cultural museums and underrepresented entrepreneurs who can say, "Tourism helped grow my business," then you are missing a critical piece of your inclusive tourism and advocacy strategy. This is why the gutting of Brand USA's funding is so telling. It's not just about federal cuts. It's a symptom of a broader disconnect between tourism's perceived glamour and its measurable, equitable economic contribution. When decision-makers don't see how tourism investment creates tangible value across all parts of a destination, they deprioritize it. They reallocate funds. And they look elsewhere for ROI. For too long, many destinations have approached community engagement as a box to check — tokenism dressed up as outreach. But performative gestures don't build trust, visibility or economic impact. They certainly don't build advocacy allies when your budget is on the chopping block. What's needed now is a shift toward equity alignment and intentional ecosystem building. That means: • Integrating underrepresented small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cultural institutions into local tourism supply chains • Equipping these businesses with the tools, training and visibility to compete • Helping them develop case studies and impact stories that can be shared with stakeholders and policymakers alike This isn't charity — it's strategy. Ask yourself: • Can you confidently point to 10 small businesses or cultural attractions that are better off today because of your tourism strategy? • Can you call on them tomorrow to speak on your behalf to a city council or congressional committee about tourism's impact on their livelihood? • Are they ready and empowered to help you defend your budget -- not out of obligation, but because they have benefited directly from your leadership? If the answer is no, that's a red flag — not just for your marketing efforts, but for your long-term sustainability and political leverage. The Brand USA cuts aren't just about a federal marketing budget. They are a signal to the entire industry. When tourism isn't seen as creating shared prosperity, it loses its legitimacy as a public investment. Destinations that fail to prioritize inclusive economic development will continue to be vulnerable to defunding and disinvestment. Here is my call to action: Build now so you don't have to scramble later. I have seen though my businesses that DMOs and tourism boards can move from talk to transformation by: • Identifying and engaging underrepresented SMEs and cultural institutions • Delivering culturally relevant, industry-specific training to make them tourism market-ready • Equipping them to share truth-telling stories about how tourism has impacted their businesses and communities When these businesses are fully integrated into your tourism economy, you don't have to manufacture impact stories — you already have them. And when legislators question the value of tourism funding, you have local voices who can speak powerfully and authentically about how those dollars made a difference. Will you be proactive or reactive? The choice is yours. Continue to operate in silos and react when funding is threatened. Or act now to build a tourism ecosystem that is inclusive, resilient and politically defensible because its impact is clear, measurable and backed by real voices. Is your destination ready to move from performative to purposeful? Let's co-create an ecosystem where every stakeholder — especially those traditionally excluded — can benefit and advocate for tourism's rightful place in our economic future. ___________________________________________________________ Travel Weekly accepts opinion pieces on subjects of interest to the travel industry and, most importantly, to travel advisors. Forums should be 550 words and must be exclusive to Travel Weekly; no part of the writing can have been published anywhere else. Forums must not be self-promotional and should be submitted with the understanding that Travel Weekly reserves the right to edit the content for length, style, spelling, clarity, structure, etc. Submissions, along with a high-resolution headshot and a short bio, should be emailed to editor in chief Arnie Weissmann and deputy managing editor Gerry Bourbeau.
Japan Times
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Contrary to political rhetoric, Ukrainian refugees boosting Poland's economy
With a wrench in hand, Ukrainian refugee Oleksandr Belyba is busy repairing a van in a garage in the Polish capital. The 33-year-old is devoted to his work, and wants to stay in Poland, which benefits economically from refugees but where anti-migrant sentiment is rising. "It's impossible not to work in Poland, and Ukrainians are people that can't just sit idle," said Belyba, who spent 13 months on the front line fighting off the Russian invasion, and arrived in Poland half a year ago to work in a repair shop owned by a childhood friend from Dnipro. After the beginning of the war in 2022, Poland opened its borders to millions of refugees and offered them various benefits. Today, most of these benefits are no longer in force, and Ukrainians have the same rights and obligations as Poles. Ukrainian workers and students get access to free health care and education. There are approximately 1.5 million Ukrainians living in Poland, a million of whom are considered refugees and are mostly women and children. Olesia Hryhorash, a tailor working in a dry-cleaning service in a shopping mall in Warsaw, poses for a picture at her sewing machine on June 26. | AFP-JIJI Their presence is highly beneficial to Poland's growing economy, according to a recently published report. Last year, Ukrainian refugees "generated 2.7% of Poland's gross domestic product (GDP)," said the report by Deloitte and UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency. This gain would be "lost" if refugees were to disappear, the report said. Furthermore, refugees "increase the labour supply as both workers and entrepreneurs and expand demand as consumers," Deloitte indicated, underlining that 69% of Ukrainian refugees in Poland work. 'Poles first' The report goes against numerous statements made by Polish nationalist and far-right politicians, who accuse Ukrainians of "taking advantage of Poland." During the recent electoral campaign, the nationalist president-elect Karol Nawrocki had a slogan: "Poland first, Poles first." He called for social benefits to go "above all to Poles" and said they should even "have priority" in queues at the doctor's office. Far-right leader Slawomir Mentzen accused the Ukrainians of treating Poles like "suckers" who are being duped into contributing to their presence in Poland. However, welfare benefits "are not enough to live comfortably in Poland," said Oleh Yarovyi, owner of the Dobro Dobro coffee chain in Warsaw, where 95% of employees are Ukrainian. "Life in Poland isn't very cheap, and to live normally, refugees often need extra work," he said. Olesia Hryhorash, a dry-cleaning service employee in a shopping mall, agreed. "All my friends are working — some even work two jobs," said the 25-year-old, who arrived in Poland on holiday just before the Russian invasion. Vitalii Vizinskyi, a Ukrainian construction company owner, poses for a picture in the garden of a Warsaw embassy where his employees work on laying paving stones on June 24. | AFP-JIJI According to the UNHCR report, Ukrainians in Poland work primarily in lower-income positions, and their arrival did not result in a surge in the unemployment rate, which remains at around 5%. "The economy has benefited from a larger pool of talent, enabling deeper specialization and increased productivity growth," it said. 'Money from Poland' "I didn't take any money from Poland. Everything I have here I earn with my own hands," said Vitalii Vizinskyi, 47, a construction company owner from western Ukraine. "And of course, I pay taxes here," he said. Behind him, his workers — Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles — were busy laying paving stones in the garden of a Warsaw embassy. Poland has "simplified the registration of Ukrainian businesses, access to education and employment," said Kateryna Glazkova, executive director of the Union of Ukrainian Entrepreneurs, who lives between Kyiv and Warsaw, where her family has settled. The Polish Economic Institute estimates that Ukrainians set up nearly one in 10 microbusinesses in Poland, mainly in construction and services. A report by the Polish state bank BGK found that tax and social security contributions from Ukrainian migrants totaled around 15.1 billion zlotys (€3.5 billion), while child allowances amounted to around 2.8 billion zlotys. "Because of taxes and contributions to the Polish budget, Ukrainians have returned much more than they received in aid," Glazkova said.
Al Jazeera
07-07-2025
- Business
- Al Jazeera
The Take: Why is drought-hit Brazil saying yes to AI data centers?
When AI data centers come to town, companies promise jobs and opportunities. In one drought-stricken community in Brazil, residents are weighing the choices. How do communities balance the economic boost and environmental cost of hosting water-reliant data centers? In this episode: Lais Martins (@ Investigative Journalist Episode credits: This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolome and Haleema Shah, with Remas Alhawari, Manny Panaretos, Mariana Navarrete, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Kylene Kiang. The Take production team is Marcos Bartolome, Sonia Bhagat, Sari el-Khalili, Tamara Khandaker, Phillip Lanos, Chloe K Li, Ashish Malhotra, Haleema Shah, Khaled Soltan, Amy Walters, and Noor Wazwaz. Our editorial interns are Remas Alhawari, Marya Khan, and Kisaa Zehra. Our guest host is Kevin Hirten. Our engagement producers are Adam Abou-Gad and Vienna Maglio. Aya Elmileik is lead of audience engagement. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take's executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads and YouTube
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
How Much Does a Heat Wave Cost? Insurers and CEOs Want to Know
When a hurricane or a wildfire strikes, the economic damage is usually very visible — roofs are ripped off or charred homes line roads. Heat waves cause financial damage, too, but it's more diffuse: Farm crops might wither, construction workers pause or data centers sputter out, forcing customers offline. Climate risk models, which are widely used in the insurance industry, can estimate the likelihood that fires or floods will affect a specific place in the US, even down to the address level, and how much damage that would wreak. So far, the models don't typically make detailed projections for extreme heat. For one thing, heat is less of a threat to real estate than it is to health, energy infrastructure and the food supply.
