Status: 06/30/2021 2:50 p.m.
According to the UN, the corona losses for tourism could rise to four trillion dollars. As a recent study shows, developing countries are particularly hard hit by the consequences.
According to estimates, the economic losses for the global tourism sector in the corona pandemic could amount to more than four trillion dollars (just under 3.4 trillion euros). This was reported by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Geneva. The slow corona vaccination campaigns in many countries are ruining a rapid recovery in many tourist regions. Poor countries are particularly affected.
Vaccination campaign important for a “safe restart”
“Tourism is a lifeline for millions of people,” declared UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili. Making progress in the vaccination campaign and thus enabling a “safe restart” for tourism are crucial for jobs in this area.
In Corona year 2020, the consequences of the downturn in the tourism industry reduced global economic output by an estimated 2.4 trillion dollars. According to the UNWTO, the number of international tourists has decreased by around one billion compared to the previous year. That corresponds to a slump of 73 percent.
Big damage this year too
This year, too, the tourism figures are expected to be 63 to 75 percent below the comparative values before the pandemic. That would result in losses of between $ 1.7 and $ 2.4 trillion – especially if vaccination rates don’t rise rapidly in low-income countries. As a result, these countries suffered the most, while affluent countries with high vaccination rates – such as France, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and the US – recover faster.
“In international tourism we are at the level of 30 years ago, basically in the 80s,” said Zoritsa Urosevic from the UNWTO. “Many livelihoods are really threatened.” Currently, the spread of the delta variant is not only affecting the restart of the travel industry in Europe.
Low vaccination rates in developing countries
While some countries have already vaccinated over 60 percent of their population, the vaccination rate, especially in some countries on the African continent, is still well below one percent. The organizations warned that “the uneven distribution of vaccines is adding to the economic damage to the tourism sector in developing countries”.
According to the report, the international tourism industry is likely to stagnate this year and not have fully recovered until 2023.