Argentine tourism industry fears for its continuity 2:59
(CNN) - While popular destinations are slowly reopening and tourism is starting to pick up in places, the impact of the pandemic on the industry has been devastating.
Many countries that rely heavily on tourism revenue lost one of their main sources of wealth almost overnight in March, but which ones are hit hardest?
According to Statista, Mexico is the most vulnerable of the largest economies in the world, since 15.5% of its GDP depends on the travel and tourism industry.
The online portal, which provides data on the global digital economy, has compiled a list of those likely to be the most affected according to 2019 figures from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
LOOK: Argentine tourism industry fears for its continuity following the covid-19
Mexico is at the top of Statista's list, closely followed by Spain and Italy.
Already among the countries with the highest death rate from coronavirus, European destinations are also likely to be among the hardest hit by declining tourism due to their dependence on visitor income, which contributed 14.3% to GDP from Spain last year and 13% from Italy, according to WTTC.
After one of the strictest confinements in Europe, at one point adults were only allowed to leave their home to buy food, medicine, or to take their dog for a walk, Spain has been eager to revive its struggling tourism industry , reopening its borders in the last month to all EU countries and approved third countries.
Tourism dependency
Meanwhile, Italy reopened to EU travelers, along with the United Kingdom and the microstates and principalities of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican, in a move that the government described as "calculated risk".
However, coronavirus cases here have increased significantly in Spain since restrictions were lifted, and some parts are in second confinement.
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Italy has also seen a slight increase in cases since the restrictions were eased, indicating that the recovery process is likely to be slow with possible stops and starts.
The impact on the US, the world's largest economy, has been less significant, as tourism only accounts for 8.6% of its GDP, which is based on various contributions, including revenue from hotels, travel agencies travel, airlines and restaurants.
However, WTTC indicates that the total contribution from travel and tourism represents around 16.8 million jobs.
The United States has the highest covid-19 death rate in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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France is just below the US on the list, with tourism accounting for 8.5% of its GDP in 2019, followed by Brazil with 7.7%.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the decline in tourism is likely to have few financial ramifications for South Korea, as the tourism sector only accounted for 4.2% of its GDP last year.
While the top destinations have been doing their best to tempt travelers to come back, it looks like it's going to take time for the industry to recover, and experts have suggested that things will never be like they used to be - it took almost three Years for the airline industry will recover from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
"I'm not sure [the travel industry] is ever identical to what it was [before covid 19]," said CNN Travel earlier this month Lori Pennington-Gray, professor and director of the Management Initiative for Tourism Crisis at the University of Florida.
“As for operating at full capacity and with the same volumes, it can take years to get there. But we know from previous crises that the travel industry is very resilient. "
"The travel industry will recover, it just isn't going to happen tomorrow."