40% of destinations eased travel restrictions
Travel Biz News —
More than 40 per cent of all destinations worldwide have now eased the restrictions they placed on international tourism in response to COVID-19 , according to the latest analysis of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO),
The responsible restart of tourism is underway around the world as growing numbers of destinations ease COVID-19 related travel restrictions and adapt to the new reality.
UNWTO has been monitoring global responses to the pandemic from the start of the crisis. This latest outlook, recorded on 19 July, is up from 22% of destinations that had eased restrictions on travel by 15 June and the 3% previously observed by 15 May.
It confirms the trend of a slow but continuous adaptation and responsible restart of international tourism.
At the same time, however, of the 87 destinations that have now eased travel restrictions, just four have completely lifted all restrictions, while 83 have eased them while keeping some measures such as the partial closure of borders in place.
According to the UNWTO report, destinations with a higher dependency on tourism are more likely to be easing restrictions on travel .
Of the 87 destinations that have eased restrictions recently, 20 are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), many of which depend on tourism as a central pillar of employment, economic growth and development.
The report also shows that around half (41) of all those destinations that have eased restrictions are in Europe, confirming the leading role of the region for the responsible restart of tourism.
Looking at the 115 destinations that continue to have their borders completely closed to international tourism, the report finds that a majority (88) have been completely closed their borders for international tourism for more than 12 weeks.
The data shows that the pandemic had led to US$320 billion in lost revenueby by the end of May , already three times the cost of the 2009 Global Economic Crisis.
August 2 , 2020
