SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

World tourism inched back in 2021, still a fraction of pre-pandemic levels

Madrid, Spain
Reuters

The world tourism industry barely improved last year compared to 2020, with all indicators staying way below pre-pandemic levels and industry professionals not expecting a full recovery before 2024, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) said on Tuesday.

The tourism industry suffered a huge blow in 2020 as a result of lockdowns and travel restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19, which made people around the world limit their activity and lose their livelihoods.

Spain Gran Canaria beach

A tourist sunbathes on an air mattress with her phone on the Amadores beach in the south of the island of Gran Canaria, Spain, on 3rd August, 2021. PICTIRE: Reuters/Borja Suarez/File photo.

Rising vaccination rates and the easing of travel restrictions did allow a small rebound in the second half of 2021, Madrid-based UNWTO said in a report, though the spread of the Omicron variant in December triggered another dip in both travel bookings and industry optimism.

“The pace of recovery remains slow and uneven across world regions due to varying degrees of mobility restrictions, vaccination rates and traveller confidence,” the report said.



Southern Mediterranean Europe, Central America and the Caribbean saw the biggest increases in tourist arrivals compared with 2020, but were still respectively 54 per cent, 56 per cent and 37 per cent below the 2019 numbers.

Meanwhile the number of tourists in the Middle East and the Asia Pacific kept falling in 2021, tumbling to 79 per cent and 94 per cent below pre-pandemic levels respectively as many destinations remained closed to non-essential travel.

Global tourism’s direct gross product rose 19% in 2021 from 2020 to $US1.9 trillion, the report said, as each tourist spent more and stayed longer than in 2020. But the tourism industry’s revenue still barely surpassed half its 2019 levels.

Around 64 per cent of tourism professionals polled by the UNWTO in December do not expect a full recovery before 2024 or later – up from the 45 per cent polled in September, when perspectives for travel revival had not yet been marred by Omicron. 

“The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the Omicron variant are set to disrupt the recovery and affect confidence through early 2022 as some countries reintroduce travel bans and restrictions for certain markets,” the report said.

 

Donate



sight plus logo

Sight+ is a new benefits program we’ve launched to reward people who have supported us with annual donations of $26 or more. To find out more about Sight+ and how you can support the work of Sight, head to our Sight+ page.

Musings

TAKE PART IN THE SIGHT READER SURVEY!

We’re interested to find out more about you, our readers, as we improve and expand our coverage and so we’re asking all of our readers to take this survey (it’ll only take a couple of minutes).

To take part in the survey, simply follow this link…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.