World destinations:180 million fewer international arrivals between January – March 2021

Travel Biz News —

Destinations around the world welcomed 180 million fewer international arrivals between January and March 2021 compared to the first quarter of last year.

International tourist arrivals decreased 83 per cent in the first quarter of 2021 as widespread travel restrictions remained in place, according to a statement issued by UNWTO.

However , the UNWTO Confidence Index shows signs of a slow uptick in confidence.

Asia and the Pacific continued to suffer the lowest levels of activity with a 94 per cent drop in international arrivals over the three-month period.

Europe recorded the second largest decline with -83 per cent, followed by Africa (-81 per cent), the Middle East (-78 per cent) and the Americas (-71 per cent). This all follows on from the 73 per cent fall in worldwide international tourist arrivals recorded in 2020, making it the worst year on record for the sector.

The latest survey of the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts shows prospects for the May-August period improving slightly. The pace of the vaccination rollout in some key source markets as well as policies to restart tourism safely, most notably the EU Digital Green Certificate, have boosted hopes for a rebound in some of these markets.

Overall, 60 per cent expect a rebound in international tourism only in 2022, up from 50 per cent in the January 2021 survey. The remaining 40 per cent see a potential rebound in 2021, though this is down slightly from the percentage in January.

Nearly half of the experts do not see a return to 2019 international tourism levels before 2024 or later, while the percentage of respondents indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 has somewhat decreased (37 per cent), when compared to the January survey.

Tourism experts point to the continued imposition of travel restrictions and the lack of coordination in travel and health protocols as the main obstacle to the sector’s rebound.

The UNWTO World Tourism Barometer also shows the economic toll of the pandemic. International tourism receipts in 2020 declined by 64 per cent in real terms (local currencies, constant prices), equivalent to a drop of over US$ 900 billion, cutting the overall worldwide exports value by over 4 per cent in 2020.

The total loss in export revenues from international tourism (including passenger transport) amounts to nearly US$ 1.1 trillion. Asia and the Pacific and the Middle East saw the largest drops in receipts.

June 2 , 2021

Photo credit : UNWTO