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Reuters, GENEVA, June 30 – International tourism arrivals are anticipated to remain flat this year, save in a few Western markets, resulting in losses of up to $2.4 trillion, according to a United Nations research released on Wednesday, with the sector not expected to fully recover until 2023. COVID- It noted that rebuilding confidence in international tourism, which is a lifeline for many countries, particularly small island states that rely heavily on the sector for employment, is critical. According to a research by UNCTAD and the UN’s World Tourism Organization, international arrivals fell by 73 percent in 2020 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, resulting in predicted losses of $2.4 trillion in tourism and related sectors (UNWTO). “The picture for this year doesn’t look much better,” UNCTAD’s trade analysis section chief Ralf Peters said at a press conference. “The first three months were horrible again,” he added, “there wasn’t much traveling going on.” “There is an expectation of a certain recovery in the second half of the year, at least to a certain amount in North America and Europe,” he told Reuters, citing vaccinations as a reason. International tourism arrivals are expected to plummet by 63 percent to 75 percent from pre-pandemic levels in 2021, resulting in losses of between $1.7 trillion and $2.4 trillion, according to the analysis. “International tourism is at levels last seen 30 years ago, putting us firmly in the 1980s… Many people’s livelihoods are at jeopardy “Zoritsa Urosevic, the UNWTO’s Geneva representative, emphasized this. “In the long term, what we’re looking at is…meeting the 2019 figures after 2023,” she said. According to Sandra Carvao, UNWTO’s chief of market intelligence, the recovery will be “extremely heterogeneous,” differing by region and country. She claims that the European Union’s digital COVID-19 certificate, which is set to take effect on Thursday, is the sole regional harmonisation to yet. “We see for example Asia-Pacific is still one of the most restricted regions in the world at current time,” Carvao said, referring to travel routes. “Most of the borders in the countries are either completely closed or with severe restrictions.” Stephanie Nebehay contributed reporting, and William Maclean edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards. Continue reading

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