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Published on : Thursday, November 5, 2020
International tourism numbers are expected to go down by 58% to 78% this year. This decline in tourism would amount to a loss of $910 billion to $1.2 trillion in tourism exports which went up to $1.5 trillion in 2019.
As per a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, this loss faced by the tourism industry could cause a loss of 1.5% to 2.8% on global GDP, which would translate to a $1.17 trillion to $2.22 trillion loss for the global economy.
For some islands like St. Lucia, tourism accounts for over 90% of exports. In 2019, tourism accounted for 10% of all exports in Africa. It generated 7% of all trade and employed 1 in 10 people on a global scale. Moreover, in 2019, there were 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals and 8.8 billion domestic arrivals.
Between January and August this year, the number of international tourist arrivals declined by 70% according to the UNWTO. It amounted to around $730 billion loss in tourism exports. This was eight times the losses experienced in the 2009 global financial crisis.
During the first four months of 2020, the US saw the highest loss in tourism revenue, amounting to $30.71 billion. Countries in Europe accounted for 50% of the top 10 regions suffering the highest revenue losses. The Caribbean comprised 50% of the top 10 countries that witnessed the highest GDP losses during this period.
China’s domestic tourism sector is expected to suffer a 52% decline in 2020 based on a study by the China Tourism Academy. A WTTC report stated that Italy could lose up to €36.7 billion from travel and tourism this year.
Tags: International tourism