Global tourism losses in 2021 should reach 2 trillion

The world tourism sector should again register losses of 2 trillion dollars this year, as a result of the restrictions linked to the pandemic of the COVID-19, announced this Monday the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which considers the recovery “slow” and “fragile”.

This estimate is known at a time when Europe is suffering a particularly virulent new wave of COVID-19 and the detection of a new variant, called omicron, in South Africa, which led several countries to suspend flights originating in southern Africa.

These latest events show that “the situation is totally unpredictable” and that the tourism sector is not safe from risks likely to cause “enormous economic damage”, the UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, acknowledged to AFP.

According to the United Nations agency, which will hold its general assembly in Madrid between Tuesday and December 3, international tourist arrivals should continue to be “70 to 75% lower” this year compared to pre-pandemic levels.

The tourism sector, one of the hardest hit by the health emergency, should once again register gigantic losses this year, estimated at around 2 trillion dollars. A figure almost identical to that of 2020.

“The crisis in the tourism sector is historic, but tourism has the possibility of recovering quickly,” stressed Zurab Pololikashvili, however, showing hope that “2022 will be a much better year than 2021.”

– “Uneven” results –

According to the barometer published by the UNWTO, international tourist arrivals actually experienced a rebound “during the summer season in the northern hemisphere”, hinting at an improvement after a “weak” first half of the year, thanks to the “strong advance in vaccination ”.

But “the results continue to be uneven in the different regions of the world,” said the UNWTO statement, which attributed this heterogeneous situation “to differences in mobility restrictions, vaccination rates and traveler confidence.”

During the third quarter of the year, some Caribbean islands and several destinations in southern Europe and the Mediterranean recorded “arrivals similar to or higher than the pre-pandemic levels” of 2019, the Madrid-based agency noted.

But other countries received virtually no tourists, especially in Asia and the Pacific region, where “many destinations were closed to non-essential travel.”

According to the UNWTO, 46 countries are currently totally closed to tourists, which is equivalent to one destination in five, and 55 are partially closed. Conversely, four countries have already lifted all restrictions: Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

This situation creates confusion and weighs on the reactivation of the activity, in the opinion of the UNWTO, which asked the countries for “harmonized protocols” taking advantage of the advances related to vaccination.

– “Fragile” recovery –

Due to the persistent uncertainties about the evolution of the pandemic, the UNWTO does not offer estimates on the number of tourists who could travel abroad in 2022. But it expects a “slow” and “fragile” recovery.

“Uneven vaccination rates and new strains of COVID-19,” including omicron, “could affect the recovery,” warns the organization, which also fears the effects of the “recent increase in oil prices” on travel.

In the face of these obstacles, only “a coordinated response between countries” will allow “restoring consumer confidence,” concludes the UNWTO, which plans to debate this issue at its general assembly in Madrid.

This meeting, in which the 159 member states will participate, should have taken place in Morocco, but this country gave up hosting it due to the resurgence of covid-19.