The Economic Effect of Covid-19 on Tourism - Dr Yasam Ayavefe
Tourism is one of the world’s major economic sectors and one of the sectors most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
About 330 million people worldwide are employed in the field of culture and tourism. As a result of the pandemic, 10% of them lost the opportunity to work. A significant proportion of these people are immigrants, women and young people.
Source: UGC
Cultural tourism accounts for about 40% of the total world income from this industry. at the height of the self-isolation regime, that is, in March and April 2020, 95% of museums were forced to close their doors in 90% of countries.
International tourism in 2021 years increase by 4%, compared to 2020 this is 15 million more international tourist arrivals (2020- 400 million). However, according to preliminary estimates, international arrivals were still 72% below the pre-pandemic year of 2019. The worst year on record for tourism comes in 2020 when international arrivals decreased by 73%.
International tourism began to recover in the second half of 2021. In terms of international arrivals, the Americas and Europe outperformed other regions in 2021(+17% and +19% respectively). The Southern Mediterranean, Europe and Central America also grew significantly, at 57% and 54% respectively. North America and Central and Eastern Europe outperformed 2020 by 17% and 18%.
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Arrivals in Africa increased by 12% in 2021. In the Middle East, arrivals fell by 24%. In the Asia-Pacific region, the number of arrivals was still 65%.
International Tourist Arrivals By Region
Economic affect
Economic income from tourism in 2021 (measured in tourism gross domestic product) reaches $1.9 trillion, but despite this, it is still below the pre-pandemic value of $3.5 trillion. Export earnings from international tourism reached US$700 billion in 2021.
According to research, the average check per check-in will reach $1,500 in 2021, up from $1,300 in 2020.
UNTWO Panel of Experts on the 2022 Survey
According to the latest study by the UNWTO Panel of Experts, tourism experts see better prospects for 2022. Of these, 58% expect improvement in 2022, while 42% point to a full recovery only in 2023. Many experts believe that global arrivals will only return to 2019 levels in 2024.
Prospects for international tourism
Аs UNWTO studies show it can be concluded that the growth in the arrival of foreign tourists will grow from 30% to 80% in 2022 compared to 2021.
But this figure is still 50% lower than the pre-pandemic period.
With COVID-19 cases picking up recently, a new wave of Omicron could hinder the recovery as some countries re-impose travel bans and restrictions. Such a difficult economic situation may cause additional pressure on the effect of improving international tourism, in addition, if we take into account the rise in oil prices and rising inflation. However, tourism continues to recover in the countries of America and Europe. This is also due to the increase in the number of vaccinated people and the desire of countries to lift travel restrictions.
Such conditions will help accelerate the recovery processes of international tourism in 2022.
While international tourism is returning to its former state, in the meantime, domestic tourism continues to develop more and more intensively.
According to experts, domestic tourism and walks close to home, as well as active recreation, are new trends in the tourism sector and will further develop tourism in 2022.
In different countries Vaccination against COVID-19 is carried out unevenly: in some regions, the number of vaccinated people is less than 1%, and in other countries, the number of people vaccinated is more than 60 per cent. Given such indicators, we can say about the rapid process of tourism recovery in developed countries than the recovery process in developing countries.
It is believed that in countries such as France, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the US, the tourism sector of the economy will recover the fastest.
Yaşam Ayavefe
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Source: Legit.ng
