The corona pandemic hit tourism particularly hard in 2020: border closings and travel warnings have made vacation almost impossible.
A review.
Holidays were hard to think of in 2020: In addition to border closings in spring, travel warnings * and accommodation bans in autumn caused the travel industry to plunge into a deep hole.
Current data from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) show how much tourism has declined.
Corona pandemic: massive loss of income in the tourism industry - back in the 90s
Between January and October 2020 there were 900 million fewer international tourists than in the same period in 2010. That amounts to a loss of 935 billion US dollars (approx. 760 billion euros) and is therefore ten times as severe as the effects of the global economic crisis 2009. UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili said in a statement: “Since the beginning of this crisis, the UNWTO has provided governments and companies with trustworthy data
that demonstrate
the unprecedented
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global tourism
.
Even if news of a vaccine instills travelers' confidence, there is still a long way to go to recovery.
We must therefore intensify our efforts to safely open borders and at the same time support jobs and companies in tourism.
It is becoming increasingly clear that tourism is one of the sectors hardest hit by this unprecedented crisis.
"
Calculated over the whole of 2020, the UNWTO expects a decrease in international travelers by 70 to 75 percent.
This would bring tourism back to a level it was 30 years ago - a billion fewer tourists and a loss of 1.1 trillion US dollars (approx. 89 billion euros) compared to then.
Also interesting
: After the Corona crisis 2020: Will the big travel boom come next year?
After the corona pandemic: when will the tourism industry recover?
Especially in the
Asia and Pacific region
, where the corona pandemic began and where the strictest entry rules still prevail, there were
82 percent fewer tourists
in the first ten months of 2020
.
In the
Middle East, 73 percent fewer tourists are counted and in Africa 69 percent
.
After
Europe
and
America
, the numbers fell by
68 percent
each
.
Despite the continuing weak demand that is emerging, large markets such as the USA, Germany and France are showing a slight recovery.
In addition, the demand for domestic tourism is increasing - also in China and Russia.
Thanks to the corona vaccine, the organization expects that the situation for tourism will relax a little and that travel restrictions will slowly be relaxed again.
According to the forecast, it could take another
two and a half to four years for
the industry to return to the level of 2019
.
(fk) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
Also read
: Completely new travel because of Corona?
What's trending on vacation in 2021.
You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance
You should urgently avoid these mistakes in travel cancellation insurance