The New Year will be a year of hope for the global tourism industry.The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a major blow at the global economy and global tourism.
The epidemic has affected dozens of states, tour operators, hotels, airlines, food manufacturers, and a host of other industries related to the hospitality industry.According to various sources, the global tourism sector ended 2020 with an average loss of $ 3 trillion due to COVID-19.
Before the pandemic, international tourism made a big leap in its development. It grew especially fast in 2017-2018. In 2019, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), 1.5 billion international tourist trips were registered in the world. For 2020, experts predicted a four percent increase compared to the previous year.
At the same time, the UNWTO named the most visited countries in 2019. In the first place was France in 2019, it was visited by almost 83 million tourists. In second place was the United States, which received more than 76 million people in the same year.
According to experts, the tourism industry in 2020 was thrown back by the pandemic to the level of 30 years ago and lost more than a billion travelers. According to experts, the recovery should occur in the second half of 2021, but a full return to the level of 2019 will take from two till four years.
In many countries, the hospitality industry has become a significant, if not the main, source of income.Before the coronavirus pandemic, international tourism flourished in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.
The economy of some states was largely based on tourism.Now experts are trying to find solutions to restart the industry, while preventing the spread of a dangerous virus.
International travel and tourism, and especially international spending, are vital to support and create jobs.
Employees of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), an international public association consisting of participants in the travel and tourism industry, have estimated that air carriers have lost at least $ 370 billion due to flight restrictions and predict that the sector will continue to lose money until the end of 2021.
UNWTO experts, with the help of more than a hundred volunteers from around the world, have begun to develop the first International Code for the Protection of Tourists.The purpose of the document is to combine all initiatives into legislative, legal norms and to take into account the most important problems encountered by travelers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is planned to prepare the document by the end of this year.
Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Maria Reyes Maroto, speaking about the upcoming FITUR International Tourism Fair, which usually takes place annually in January, announced that the event will be held in Madrid from 19 to 23 May under the slogan “Tourism is back” and will be the first major event of such kind in Europe.
According to the results of the survey conducted by the organizers of the exhibition, 54% of respondents believe that the event will be held in presence.
Also, the fair participants indicated the countries that they want to visit in the fourth quarter of this year. 10.2% of respondents want to go to Spain, 7.8% plan to go to Italy, 6.5% to France, and 6.1% want to relax in Greece.
The majority of the survey participants 69%, said that they will feel safer during their travels if they are vaccinated.