The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) describes tourism as the most affected sector globally and forecasts an annual decline in tourism receipts of up to $450 billion (UNWTO, 2021). The demand for visiting international destinations, staying at hotels, taking international flights, sailing cruise trips, and other tourism activities may, therefore, not fully recover for several years. The primary barriers likely to hinder tourism recovery include the closing of international borders, international travel bans, bankruptcies of tourism providers, and the prolonged fear by tourists of catching the virus. Gössling et al. (2020) suggest that more than 90% of the population faced different kinds of international travel restrictions, while Kaushal and Srivastava (2021) reported that the majority of respondents expected long-lasting negative outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemics. The previously described COVID-19 effects include decreasing the numbers of international flights, passengers, hotel guests, as well as cancelations of hotel stays, campsites, car rentals, and many other tourism-related activities (Gössling et al., 2020). UNWTO (2021) reported that the total losses of the tourism industry in 2020-2021 exceed $4 trillion.
References
Gössling, S., Scott, D., & Hall, C. M. (2020). Pandemics, tourism and global change: a rapid assessment of COVID-19. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(1), 1-20.
Kaushal, V., & Srivastava, S. (2021). Hospitality and tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives on challenges and learnings from India. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 92, 102707.
UNWTO (2021). Statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.unwto.org/statistics
