• NEWS
    • PODCASTS
    • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWS
    • ADVERTISE WITH US
  • EVENTS
    • EVENT PHOTOS
    • EVENT VIDEOS
    • THIRSTY THURSDAYS
    • CONFERENCES
    • NETWORKING
    • TRAINING & WORKSHOPS
  • JOBS
    • FOR JOB SEEKER
    • FOR EMPLOYER
  • COMMUNITY
    • SEARCH PEOPLE
      • Create a profile now
    • SEARCH COMPANIES
      • Create a profile now
  • EVERYTHING TD
    • About TD
    • What is Native Content?
    • Advertise with TD
    • Connect with Tory (Director of Sales)
    • Connect with Anthony (Sales -AU/NZ/SP)
    • Connect with Paul (BDM-Global)
    • Connect with Crystal (BDM-Singapore)
    • Connect with Washira (BDM-Thailand)
  • SELF SERVICE
    • ONLINE SERVICES
    • POST A TRAVEL BLOG
    • UPLOAD YOUR EVENT

Travel Daily Travel Daily - Informing, connecting and developing the world’s travel industry professionals.

  • MARKETS
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • Indonesia
      • Laos
      • Malaysia
      • Philippines
      • Singapore
      • Vietnam
      • Australia
    • Thailand
    • China
    • India
    • Middle East
    • UK & Europe
    • USA
  • SECTORS
    • Air
    • Appointments
    • Business Travel
    • Cruise
    • Hospitality
    • HR & Careers
    • Luxury Travel
    • MICE
    • Technology
    • Tourism
    • Travel Agents
  • FEATURES
    • Sponsored
    • Travel Guides
    • Interviews
    • Podcasts
    • Guest writers
    • Competitions
    • Incentives
    • Reviews
    • By the Way
    • PR Newswire
    • BusinessWire
    • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
      • Hotel & Travel businesses for sale
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • South Australia Tourism Guide
    • The Residence by Etihad Airways
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • FREE TRAINING COURSES
    • Traveluni Online Courses
Travel Daily
TourismVaccination UpdatesAssociations

Bleak Affair: Tourism back to 1990 levels as arrivals fall by more than 70%

By Megha Paul On Dec 18, 2020
TD Editor
Share

International arrivals fell by 72% over the first ten months of 2020, with restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence and a global struggle to contain the COVID-19 virus, all contributing to the worst year on record in the history of tourism.

According to the latest tourism data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), destinations welcomed 900 million fewer international tourists between January and October when compared with the same period of 2019. This translates into a loss of USD 935 billion in export revenues from international tourism, more than 10 times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic crisis.

Since the start of this crisis, UNWTO has provided governments and businesses with trusted data showing the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global tourism

UNWTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Since the start of this crisis, UNWTO has provided governments and businesses with trusted data showing the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global tourism. Even as the news of a vaccine boosts traveller confidence, there is still a long road to recovery. We thus need to step up our efforts to safely open borders while supporting tourism jobs and businesses. It is ever clearer that tourism is one of the most affected sectors by this unprecedented crisis.”

Based on the current evidence, UNWTO expects international arrivals to decline by 70% to 75% for the whole of 2020. In this case, global tourism will have returned to levels of 30 years ago, with 1 billion fewer arrivals and a loss of some US$ 1.1 trillion in international tourism receipts. This massive drop in tourism due to the pandemic could result in an economic loss of US$ 2 trillion in world GDP.

Travel restrictions continue to weigh on the recovery

Asia and the Pacific, the first region to suffer the impact of the pandemic and the one with the highest level of travel restrictions to date, saw an 82% decrease in arrivals in the first ten months of 2020. The Middle East recorded a 73% decline, while Africa saw a 69% drop. International arrivals in both Europe and the Americas declined by 68%.

Europe recorded smaller decreases of 72% and 76% in September and October compared to other world regions, following the slight though short-lived recovery in the summer peak months of July and August. The resurgence of the virus across the region has led to the reintroduction of some forms of travel restrictions. However, Europe is the region in which more destinations (91% as of 1 November 2020) have eased such restrictions, mainly among Schengen Member States.

At the other end of the spectrum, Asia and the Pacific continued to record declines of nearly 100% in September and October, reflecting the ongoing closure of borders in China and other major destinations in the region. The Americas has seen a gradual improvement since June with comparatively lower decreases in international arrivals through October. This reflects the reopening of many destinations in the region, including small island developing states in the Caribbean.

Demand remains weak overall despite slight improvement in few markets

Data on international tourism expenditure continues to reflect very weak demand for outbound travel.  However, some large markets such as US , Germany and France have shown some signs of recovery in the recent months. Furthermore, demand for domestic tourism continues to grow in some markets, including both China and Russia.

Looking ahead, the announcement of a vaccine and the start of vaccination are expected to gradually increase consumer confidence. At the same time, a growing number of destinations are easing or lifting restrictions on travel. According to the latest research from UNWTO, the proportion of closed destinations has dropped from 82% in late April 2020 to 18% in early November (expressed in percentage of international arrivals).

UNWTOZurab Pololikashvili
Share
You might also like
Tourism

Morocco visit initiates preparations for UNWTO General Assembly

Reopening updates

Kerala must ramp up commitment to responsible tourism

Tourism

2020 worst year for tourism, says UNWTO

Associations

Secretary-general Pololikashvili nominated to lead UNWTO for four more years

Prev Next

Comments are closed.

LATEST STORIES

  • Madeira opens up to vaccinated tourists with ‘green corridor’

    UK travellers support continuing social distance measures on planes even after being vaccinated

    Of women and wanderlust! Thomas Cook India and SOTC unveil special flight inclusive women-only tours

    Boeing 777s grounded by airlines following Denver incident

  • Thailand may waive quarantine for COVID-19 vaccinated tourists

    MG Group announces direct connectivity integration with OYO Group

    Stakeholders push Malaysia reopening borders to vaccinate travellers

    Number of global new Covid-19 cases continues to fall - WHO reports

  • What’s in store if you travel to Israel now. Tracking bracelet instead of hotel quarantine

    Goa Tourism launches online course

    Gourmet rejoice! Dubai Food Festival to start on 25 March

    Qantas to roll out health passports this week

Vaccination Updates

Madeira opens up to vaccinated tourists with ‘green…

Thailand may waive quarantine for COVID-19 vaccinated…

Bali’s reopening within reach as island ramps up vaccination…

Emirates operates first fully vaccinated flight

Prev Next 1 of 26

Re-opening updates

UK travellers support continuing social distance measures on…

Of women and wanderlust! Thomas Cook India and SOTC unveil…

Stakeholders push Malaysia reopening borders to vaccinate…

What’s in store if you travel to Israel now. Tracking…

Prev Next 1 of 7
STAY UPDATED WITH THE LATEST TRAVEL NEWS, JOBS & EVENTS!
Join over 180,000 travel agents, professionals and executives subscribed to our daily newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time

Popular Posts

Madeira opens up to vaccinated tourists with ‘green…

How insurance sector should change for post-Brexit business…

Tripadvisor launches live sentiment dashboard to support…

Haikou receives over one million travellers during Chinese…

Prev Next 1 of 14
Search
Follow Us

Menu
  • News
  • Events
  • Jobs
  • Community
  • Subscribe
About
  • About Travel Daily (TD)
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
© 2021 - Travel Daily. All Rights Reserved.
X
Travel Daily
GET THE LATEST TRAVEL INDUSTRY NEWS, JOBS AND EVENTS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX!
Join over 180,000 travel agents, professionals and executives subscribed to our daily newsletter.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up here to get the latest news, updates and special offers delivered directly to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe at any time
Close

Welcome, Login to your account.

Forget password?
No account? Sign Up
Sign in

Recover your password.

A password will be e-mailed to you.

LOG IN

Welcome back, Log in to your account.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Continue with Twitter
Continue with LinkedIn

OR
Log in using your email
Forgot password?
Not a member yet? SIGN UP FOR FREE
Sign in

Recover your password.

Sign in

SIGN UP FOR FREE

(New User)

Be part of our community of seasoned travel and hospitality industry professionals from all over the world.

Continue with Facebook
Continue with Google
Continue with Twitter
Continue with LinkedIn
I want to
Only letters and numbers are allowed
Please enter a valid email address
Must be between 6-8 characters
Must be the same with Password
Already have an account? LOG IN
  • LOGIN / SIGN UP
  • NEWS
    • MARKETS
      • Asia
        • Cambodia
        • Indonesia
        • Malaysia
        • Myanmar
        • Philippines
        • Laos
        • Singapore
        • Vietnam
        • Australia
      • Thailand
      • China
      • India
      • Middle East
      • UK & Europe
      • USA
    • SECTORS
      • Air
      • Appointments
      • Business Travel
      • Cruise
      • Hospitality
      • HR & Careers
      • Luxury Travel
      • MICE
      • Technology
      • Tourism
      • Travel Agents
    • FEATURES
      • Sponsored
      • Travel Guides
      • Interviews
      • Podcasts
      • Guest writers
      • Reviews
      • Competitions
      • By the Way
      • PR Newswire
      • BusinessWire
      • Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)
        • Hotel & Travel businesses for sale
  • EVENTS
    • Webinars
    • Thirsty Thursdays
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Conferences
    • Networking
    • Training & Workshops
  • JOBS
    • For Job Seeker
      • Create a profile now
    • For Employer
      • Create a profile now
  • COMMUNITY
    • Search community profiles
    • Search Companies
  • TRAVEL GUIDES
    • Ponant Yacht Cruises and Expeditions
    • South Australia Tourism Guide
    • The Residence by Etihad Airways
    • Encore Tickets (Chinese Guide)
    • Affordable Luxury in Thailand by Centara Hotels
    • Rising Above the Oridinary by Conrad Bangkok
    • The Best of Thailand
  • FREE TRAINING COURSES
    • Traveluni Online Courses