Tourism numbers not likely to return to pre-pandemic levels till 2024, predicts World Tourism Organisation
By Team Newsable | First Published Jan 19, 2022, 9:55 AM IST"The speed of recovery remains slow and unequal across world areas due to differing degrees of movement limitations, vaccination rates, and traveller confidence," according to a news statement from the UNWTO.
Tourism numbers are not likely to return to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024, according to the World Tourism Organisation. According to the Madrid-based UN agency's World Tourism Barometer, however mild, the highly contagious Omicron form may "disrupt the recovery" in early 2022 following last year's four per cent gain over 2020.
Tourism income in 2020 will be 72% lower than in the previous year, which ended with the coronavirus epidemic. "The speed of recovery remains slow and unequal across world areas due to differing degrees of movement limitations, vaccination rates, and traveller confidence," according to a news statement from the UNWTO.
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According to the statement, tourism specialists "have improved possibilities" for this year after the Omicron wave caused instability in the early months. The statement further added the economic contribution of tourism in 2021 (measured in tourist direct gross domestic product) is anticipated to be $1.9 trillion (1.68 trillion euros), up from $1.6 trillion in 2020 but still significantly below the pre-pandemic figure of $3.5 trillion.
The organisation forecasts a 30 to 78% increase in international arrivals this year over 2021, although staying significantly lower than in 2019. According to the report, most experts do not expect a recovery to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024. Many countries rely heavily on tourism and are anxiously anticipating a return to normalcy.
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Meanwhile, foreign tourist visits in Europe and the Americas increased by 19% and 17%, respectively, last year compared to 2020. On the other hand, arrivals in the Middle East fell by 24% in 2021, while in the Asia-Pacific area, they were 66% lower than in 2020 and 94% lower than before the epidemic.
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