The deadly disease was first detected in China in December
2019 and has spread across the globe, posing adverse health and economic
implications. In a latest statement, UNWTO has called for stronger
co-ordination to restart tourism in all regions across the globe.
"The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
global tourism has carried on into 2021, with new data showing an 87 percent
fall in international tourist arrivals in January as compared to 2020," it
said.
"The outlook for the rest of the year remains cautious
as the UNWTO continues to call for stronger coordination on travel protocols
between countries to ensure the safe restart of tourism and avoid another year
of massive losses for the sector," it said.
Following a difficult end to 2020, global tourism suffered
further setbacks in the beginning of the year as countries tightened travel
restrictions in response to new virus outbreaks.
According to a latest edition of the UNWTO World Tourism
Barometer, all world regions continued to experience large drops in tourist
arrivals in the first month of the year.
"Mandatory testing, quarantines, and in some cases the
complete closure of borders, have all hindered the resumption of international
travel.
"In addition, the speed and distribution of the
vaccination roll-out have been slower than expected, further delaying the
restart of tourism," said UNWTO.
The world tourism body noted that the international
community needs to take strong and urgent action to ensure a brighter 2021. For
instance, Asia and the Pacific region, which continue to have the highest level
of travel restrictions in place, recorded the largest decrease of 96 percent in
international arrivals in January.
Europe and Africa both saw a decline of 85 percent in
arrivals, while the Middle East recorded a drop of 84 percent. International
arrivals in the Americas decreased by 77 percent in January, following somewhat
better results in the last quarter of the year.
UNWTO secretary-general Mr Zurab Pololikashvili said:
"2020 was the worst year on record for tourism. The international
community needs to take strong and urgent action to ensure a brighter
2021."
"Improved coordination between countries and harmonised
travel and health protocols are essential to restore confidence in tourism and
allow international travel to resume safely ahead of the peak summer season in
the northern hemisphere."
On the outlook, the global tourism said with 32 percent of
all global destinations completely closed to international tourists at the
beginning of February, UNWTO anticipates a challenging first few months of 2021
for global tourism.
Based on current trends, UNWTO expects international tourist
arrivals to remain subdued.
This would represent a loss of some 260 million
international arrivals when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
"Looking ahead, UNWTO has outlined two scenarios for
2021, which consider a possible rebound in international travel in the second
half of the year.
"These are based on a number of factors, most notably a
major lifting of travel restrictions, the success of vaccination programmes or
the introduction of harmonised protocols such as the Digital Green Certificate
planned by the European Commission," said UNWTO.
It said the first scenario points to a rebound in July,
which would result in a 66 percent increase in international arrivals for the
year 2021 compared to the historic lows of 2020.
"In this case, arrivals would still be 55 percent below
the levels recorded in 2019.
"The second scenario considers a potential rebound in September, leading to a 22 percent increase in arrivals compared to last year. Still, this would be 67 percent below the levels of 2019," said UNWTO.
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