COVID-19 has taken a devastating toll on the world tourism industry. The pandemic has highlighted the significance of the sector both in the world economy and the individual lives.
The year 2020 brought unprecedented changes in the sector and slipped the industry into harsh times.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) report has analysed the gruesome impacts of COVID-19 on the tourism sector. However, to pave the way out, the council has suggested measures to adopt for the sector’s recovery.
Fluctuations in the tourism sector are crucial to analyse as the sector is of significant importance in the world economy.
Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media
Importance of travel sector
Prior to the COVID-19 times, travel and tourism was one of the world’s largest sectors, contributing around 10.45% of the global GDP. Apart from its direct contribution to the GDP, the sector is vital to other sectors’ ecosystems.
Thus, tourism holds unquestionable importance in building prosperity, socio-economic development, and job creation. In addition, the sector provides unique opportunities to women, minorities, and youth, thus making a positive social impact.
Due to the pandemic, the sector has gone through a major crisis, as per the WTTC Economic Trends Report analysis.
GOOD READ: COVID-19 leaves tourism workers in dire straits
Decoding WTTC’s report
The 2020 Global Overview
Travel & Tourism GDP growth outpaced the overall economy GDP growth for nine consecutive years between 2011-2019. However, tourism industry’s GDP declined by 49.1% in 2020. Additionally, 62 million jobs were lost, leaving just 272 million employed across the sector globally.
Region-wise change
The US remained the most significant travel & tourism economy globally despite a decline of 42.4% in travel & tourism GDP. On the other hand, when it comes to Africa, the travel & tourism GDP dropped by 49.2% in 2020, in line with the global average.
However, Asia-Pacific has been the worst-performing region, as the sector’s contribution to GDP dropped by 53.7%. Europe remained the top region globally in terms of international visitor receipts. Meanwhile, in the UAE, travel & tourism GDP contracted by 60.3%, a steeper decline than the regional and global average.
In 2020, the lead contributors to the global travel and tourism GDP were the US, China, Japan, Germany, and Italy. For the speedy recovery of the sector, following are the trends for recovery and beyond.
ALSO READ: Will the new COVID-19 outbreak in Australia hit New Zealand’s tourism industry?
Recovery trends
The past couple of months have been tough for the industry, and the coming months might be challenging, as well. However, the council has analysed the trends, which are setting up already; these trends will lay a road of recovery for the travel and tourism industry in the coming months.
Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media
- There is a need for harmonised, protected, and safe travel protocols.
- Sustainability and inclusivity will be the driving factors for the industry’s revival.
- The tourism industry’s recovery is instrumental for the overall recovery of the world economy; thus, countries need to adjoin hands for the sector’s revival.
The COVID-19 positive cases globally are falling, but new variants are emerging. Amid these unprecedented circumstances, the path of revival for the industry gets steeper. However, following the above trends might help to get the sector back on track.
SOURCE: KALKINE MEDIA
.jpg){kind=tracking}
