UN: Pandemic to Cost Global Tourism $2.0 Trillion

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The UN tourism body described the tourism sector's recovery as "fragile" and "slow" after revealing its $2.0 trillion loss in revenue in 2021 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. 

The World Tourism Organization's prognosis comes as Europe battles an outbreak of infections and a new significantly mutated COVID-19 variant known as Omicron spreads around the world.

According to the agency, international tourist visits will be 70-75% lower this year than the 1.5 billion recorded in 2019 before the epidemic, a similar fall to the one in 2020.

According to the UNWTO, the worldwide tourism sector lost $2.0 trillion (1.78 trillion euros) in revenue last year as a result of the pandemic, making it one of the sectors hardest hit by the health crisis.

While the UN body in charge of tourism promotion does not have a forecast for next year's performance, the medium-term view is not promising.

"Despite the recent improvements, uneven vaccination rates around the world and new COVID-19 strains" such as the Delta variant and Omicron "could impact the already slow and fragile recovery," it said in a statement.

The recent introduction of new virus restrictions and lockdowns in various countries demonstrates how "it's a very unpredictable situation," according to UNWTO chief Zurab Pololikashvili.

"It's a historical crisis in the tourism industry but again tourism has the power to recover quite fast," he added ahead of the start of the WTO's annual general assembly in Madrid on Tuesday.

"I really hope that 2022 will be much better than 2021."

'Tourists are confused' 

While disease outbreaks have harmed foreign tourism in the past, the coronavirus is unparalleled in its geographic spread.

In addition to virus-related travel restrictions, the sector is also grappling with the economic strain caused by the pandemic, the spike in oils prices, and the disruption of supply chains, the UNWTO said.

Pololikashvili urged nations to harmonize their virus protocols and restrictions because tourists "are confused and they don't know how to travel".

International tourist arrivals "rebounded" during the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere thanks to increased travel confidence, rapid vaccination, and the easing of entry restrictions in many nations, the UNWTO said.

"Despite the improvement in the third quarter, the pace of recovery remains uneven across world regions due to varying degrees of mobility restrictions, vaccination rates, and traveler confidence," it added.

In the third quarter, arrivals on the numerous Caribbean and South Asian islands, as well as some southern European destinations, approached or even exceeded pre-pandemic levels.

Other countries, particularly in Asia and the Pacific, saw very few tourists, with arrivals down 95 percent from the previous year as many destinations remained closed to non-essential travel.

Closed borders 

According to the UNWTO, 46 destinations have closed their borders to tourists, accounting for 21% of all destinations globally.

An additional 55 countries have partially blocked their borders to international travelers, while only four countries — Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico — have lifted all virus-related restrictions.

The WTO's annual general assembly, which runs until Friday, will focus on the future of the tourism industry.

The meeting, which brings together delegates from the UN's 159 member states, was originally slated to take place in Marrakesh.

However, due to an increase of COVID-19 instances in numerous nations, Morocco opted not to host the event in late October.

Before the pandemic, the tourism industry accounted for roughly 10% of jobs.