The coronavirus pandemic has led to a significant drop in global travel, with global tourism revenues losing $1.3 trillion in 2020, making it the “worst year in tourism history,” according to data released on the 28th.
The World Tourism Organization said in a statement that the global tourism industry lost more than 11 times last year’s revenue as much as it lost in 2009 due to the financial crisis, and 100 million to 120 million jobs directly related to tourism were at risk.
According to the data, the total number of inbound tourists worldwide in 2020 decreased by 1 billion, or 74%, compared with the previous year.
Among them, Asia and the Pacific decreased by 84%, the largest; Africa and the Middle East decreased by 75%; Europe fell by 70% for the whole year despite “small and short rebound” last summer; and the Americas fell by 69%.
The last time the number of inbound tourists worldwide decreased was in 2009.
Affected by the financial crisis, the number of inbound tourists worldwide decreased by 4% year-on-year.
The World Trade Organization said that experts believe that global tourism activity will not return to pre-coronavirus levels by 2023.
When tourism can restart, the demand for outdoor tourism and nature tourism will rise, and domestic tourism will become more popular.
“A lot has been done to make safe international travel possible, [but] we know that this crisis is far from over.”
“The need for epidemic prevention measures like “testing, tracking, and issuing vaccination certificates” need to be “coordinated, coordinated and digitalized,”” said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, which is the necessary basis for promoting safe travel and preparing the tourism industry to recover when conditions permit.
