Wednesday June 30th 2021
Effects of the corona pandemic
Tourism is unlikely to recover before 2023
The corona crisis has massive effects on global tourism. Last year, the losses amounted to trillions of dollars. The uneven distribution of vaccines could further undo a quick recovery. Developing countries are particularly hard hit.
The slow corona vaccination campaigns in many countries are ruining a rapid recovery in many tourist regions. Poorer countries are particularly affected, as reported by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) and the UN Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The tourism numbers in the Corona year 2020 collapsed by 73 percent compared to the pre-crisis level of 2019 and caused losses of up to 2.4 trillion dollars (about two billion euros) in the travel industry and related areas.
Also this year, compared to 2019, a minus of 1.7 to 2.4 trillion dollars is to be feared – especially if the vaccination rate does not pick up quickly in countries with low incomes. Accordingly, these countries suffered the most, while the recovery is faster in rich countries with high vaccination rates – such as France, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
Many livelihoods are threatened
However, the number of tourists traveling internationally is unlikely to return until 2023 at the earliest as there were before the pandemic, according to the organizations. “In international tourism we are currently at the level of 30 years ago, basically in the 80s,” says UNWTO expert Zoritsa Urosevic. “Many livelihoods are really threatened.”
Many countries have not yet lifted their travel restrictions. The World Health Organization speaks of vaccination nationalism in rich countries and moral failure. Some governments have bought a large part of the scarce vaccine instead of joining a solidarity distribution around the world. While in some places young healthy people are already being vaccinated, nurses in other countries put their lives at risk every day in caring for corona patients without having been vaccinated themselves.
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