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One of the industries that has been severely hurt because of the pandemic is international travel and tourism. Unfortunately, cross-border tourism was suspended earlier in 2020 due to the sudden spread of COVID-19.
As a result, a myriad of restrictions stayed uptight throughout 2020. But, as vaccines and boosters showed effective results, countries resumed reopening their international borders by mid-2021. And now we have entered the last quarter of the year. How’s the future looking? Let’s decode! 
Tourism progress in Q3 of 2021
In the last six months of 2021, there has been a substantial improvement in international tourists. The reasons could be people becoming accustomed to the new normal, increasing faith in vaccines, enterprises following COVID-19 guidelines religiously, etc.
However, the beginning of 2021 was dull, with not much of an increase in international arrivals. But, with the commencement of summers, the numbers took a surge and resulted in tremendous success in the third quarter of the year.
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The number games
United Nations World Trade Organization’s World Tourism Barometer has revealed that international tourists increased by around 60% in the third quarter (July-September) compared to the third quarter of 2020. However, the numbers remained approximately 65% less than in 2019.

Image source: Pixabay 

So, in its entirety, the overall performance of tourism in 2021 is still around 76% below the pre-pandemic levels. But, looking at the brighter side, August and September observed the maximum number of tourist arrivals since the pandemic began.
Demographic distribution
Tourism recovery has been uneven across world regions. The rate of recovery significantly depends upon the COVID-19 situation of the area. In countries that have been a COVID-19 hub, international tourists are hesitant to visit those nations.
If we see demography-wise, Europe’s recovery has been top-notch among all: international arrivals in Europe in the third quarter were around 50% down than the 2019 levels. However, in destinations like Southern and Mediterranean Europe and Central America, international tourism rose above 2020 levels until the third quarter.
Additionally, several islands in South Asia received the maximum number of international tourists in the third quarter; in some places, the numbers were equal and almost exceeded the pre-pandemic levels.
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Is recovery brittle?
The substantial recovery in Q3 could have meant a success story for the tourism industry. However, with the emergence of the new variant of the coronavirus: Omicron, people are again becoming hesitant to travel internationally.

Image source: Pixabay
The emergence of new variants now and then is a significant cause of concern for the recovery of the tourism industry. For optimum recovery, the world needs safety from the virus. However, that seems like a far-fetched dream as of yet.
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Thus, governments and enterprises worldwide need to strengthen their vaccination and safety guidelines so that tourists can travel without an inch of worry. The situation due to Omicron hasn’t gotten out of hand yet. However, if stringent measures are not taken cautiously, the recovery might slip down all over again. 
SOURCE: KALKINE MEDIA