MADRID, 8 June 2021: International tourist arrivals slumped 83% in the first quarter of 2021, a clear sign that the travel industry is not out of the woods as far as the Covid-19 pandemic is concerned.
The latest travel statistics from the UNWTO tells us exactly what we feared. Covid-19 is here to stay, and for tourism to survive, we have to change tack from relying on quarantines and lockdowns to instigating a fast rollout of vaccines worldwide. That is now the best bet to reduce hospitalisations and fatalities.
Despite the widespread travel restrictions that continue to impact travel during the first quarter, UNWTO’s Confidence Index claims there are signs of a slow uptick in confidence within the travel industry.
Between January and March 2021, destinations around the world welcomed 180 million fewer international arrivals compared to the first quarter of last year. Asia and the Pacific continued to suffer the lowest levels of activity with a 94% drop in international arrivals over the three-month period. Europe recorded the second-largest decline with -83%, followed by Africa (-81%), the Middle East (-78%) and the Americas (-71%).
This all follows on from the 73% fall in worldwide international tourist arrivals recorded in 2020, making it the worst year on record for the sector.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili acknowledged vaccinations would be key for recovery, but it remained a priority to make testing more accessible and affordable.
“We must improve coordination and communication while making testing easier and more affordable if we want to see a rebound for the summer season in the northern hemisphere.”
The latest survey of the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts shows prospects for the May-August period improving slightly. Alongside this, the pace of the vaccination rollout in some vital source markets and policies to restart tourism safely, most notably the EU Digital Green Certificate, has boosted hopes for a rebound in some of these markets.
Overall, 60% expect a rebound in international tourism only in 2022, up from 50% in the January 2021 survey. The remaining 40% see a potential rebound in 2021, though this is down slightly from the percentage in January. Nearly half of the experts do not see a return to 2019 international tourism levels before 2024 or later, while the percentage of respondents indicating a return to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 has somewhat decreased (37%) when compared to the January survey.
Tourism experts point to the continued imposition of travel restrictions and the lack of coordination in travel and health protocols as the main obstacle to the sector’s rebound.
