Madrid-Sana
The World Tourism Organization announced today that international tourist arrivals recorded a sharp decline of 70 percent in the world during the first eight months of this year compared to last year due to the outbreak of the Corona epidemic.
"This collapse represents a 700 million decline in the number of tourists and losses amounting to 730 billion dollars for the global tourism sector, more than eight times the losses recorded after the global financial crisis in 2009," Agence France-Presse quoted the Madrid-based UN agency as saying in a statement.
The organization explained that the decline in tourism is due to the slow containment of the virus and the absence of a coordinated response between different countries to establish common protocols, as well as the deterioration of the economic context.
The organization estimates that the delegations of travelers will decline during the current year by 70 percent compared to last year, while about 20 percent of the experts consulted by the organization expect no actual recovery before 2022.
