Global tourism losses reach $320 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Global tourism has lost around $320 billion in reserves from January to May as international arrivals plunged due to lockdowns in response to the coronavirus disease or COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO) said.

In a statement, UNWTO said international visitor arrivals in the first five months of the year fell by 300 million, a 56 percent drop from the same period last year.

This was highlighted by a 98 percent drop in international arrivals in May as countries imposed complete lockdowns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNWTO said the drop in international arrivals translated to a $300 billion loss in international tourism receipts, more than three times the loss during the global financial crisis of 2009.

“This latest data makes clear the importance of restarting tourism as soon as it is safe to do so,” UNWTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said.

“The dramatic fall in international tourism places many millions of livelihoods at risk, including in developing countries,”he added.

Pololikashvili emphasized that governments have a dual responsibility to prioritize public health while also protecting jobs and businesses.

“They also need to maintain the spirit of cooperation and solidarity that has defined our response to this shared challenge and refrain from making unilateral decisions that may undermine the trust and confidence we have been working so hard to build,”he added.

While tourism is slowly returning in some destinations, UNWTO reported that its confidence index has dropped to record lows, both for the evaluation of the period January-April 2020, and the prospects for May-August.

“Most members of the UNWTO panel of tourism experts expect international tourism to recover by the second half of 2021, followed by those who expect a rebound in the first part of next year,” UNWTO said.

The group of global experts points to a series of downside risks such as travel restrictions and border shutdowns still in place in most destinations, major outbound markets such as the United States and China being at standstill, safety concerns associated with travel, the resurgence of the virus and risks of new lockdowns or curfews.

In addition, concerns over a lack of reliable information and a deteriorating economic environment are indicated as factors weighing on consumer confidence.

UNWTO said earlier that international tourist arrivals are seen to decline by up to 78 percent as it came up with three possible scenarios based on the gradual opening of international borders.

Under the first scenario, UNWTO sees international arrivals dropping 58 percent if international borders are gradually opened and travel restrictions are eased in early July.

Meanwhile, international arrivals are projected to drop 70 percent if this happens in early September, and 78 percent if it begins early December.

This translates to a potential loss of 850 million to 1.1 billion international tourists and a possible loss of $910 billion to $1.2 trillion in export revenues from tourism, with around 100 to 120 million direct tourism jobs at risk.