Global tourism recovery continues in January: UNWTO

Russia-Ukraine war to impact tourism
2022-03-31
/
/ New Delhi
Global tourism recovery continues in January: UNWTO

According to UNWTO, January 2022 saw much better tourism recovery since the outbreak of the pandemic (Photo: Jacek Dylag/ Unspash)

A report by the UNWTO says that January 2022 saw much better tourism recovery since the outbreak of the pandemic in the past two years. This had gained confidence about a quick recovery in the world’s global tourism sector. The report cautions that the recovery has been affected by the Russia-Ukraine war.
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Compared to its weak start in 2021, international tourism was way ahead and saw continued recovery in January. However, due to Ukraine’s invasion by Russia it has led to economic uncertainties, coupled with the many Covid-19-related travel restrictions already in place. This could very much affect and hamper the recovery of tourism.

According to the latest available data of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, global international tourist arrivals doubled up to 130 pc in January this year compared to 2021. In January 2022, 18 million more visitors were recorded worldwide, equal to the total increase for the whole of 2021.

Though these figures confirm the positive trend from last year, the pace of recovery in January was impacted by the emergences of the Omicron variant and the re-introduction of travel restrictions in several destinations.

Following the 71 pc decline in January 2021, international arrivals in January 2022 remained 67 pc below the pre-pandemic levels. Yet, every region enjoyed a significant rebound in January, though from low levels recorded at the start of 2021, says the UNWTO report.

Europe had 199 pc and the Americas 97 pc rebound in international travellers and continued to post the strongest results, with the arrivals still around half pre-pandemic levels.

The report adds that after the unprecedented drop of 2020 and 2021, international tourism is expected to continue its gradual recovery in 2022.

Covid restrictions withdrawal boosts travel

The report say that as of March 24, 12 destinations didn’t have any Covid-19 related restrictions in place and an increasing number of destinations were easing or lifting travel restrictions, which would have boosted international travel. However, the war in Ukraine has posed new challenges to the global economic environment and has risked hampering the return of global travel, it cautions.

The US and the Asian source markets, which have started to open up, could be particularly impacted, especially regarding travel to Europe, as these markets are historically more prone to risks.

The shutdown of Ukrainian and Russian airspace, as well as the ban on Russian carriers by many European countries is affecting intra-European travel and is also causing detours in long-haul flights between Europe and East Asia, which translates into longer flights and higher costs.

Russia and Ukraine accounted for a combined 3 pc of global spending on international tourism in 2020 and at least USD14 billion in global tourism receipts could be lost if the conflict is prolonged.

The importance of both markets is significant for neighbouring countries, but also for European sun and sea destinations.

The Russian market also gained significant weight during the pandemic for long haul destinations such as Maldives, Seychelles or Sri Lanka.

As destinations Russia and Ukraine accounted for 4 pc of all international arrivals in Europe but only 1 pc of Europe’s international tourism receipts in 2020.

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