Shaun Stenning Believes That Tourism Will Continue To Be Impacted For At Least The First Two Quarters Of 2021
In the past decades, tourism has experienced continued growth and became one of the fastest-growing economic sectors globally.
Tourism is also a key driver for socio-economic progress, with tourism-specific developments in an increasing number of national and international destinations.
According to Shaun Stenning, “The strong historical growth has been halted in 2020 amid the global Covid-19 pandemic. With airplanes on the ground, hotels closed and travel restrictions implemented, travel and tourism became one of the most affected sectors since the very start of the virus spread. The pandemic has cut international tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2020 to a fraction of what they were a year ago.”
“This was the worst three quarters ever for the tourism industry over a century and this is expected to play out till another two quarters till vaccine is deployed across all source and destination markets," Shaun said.
Closing borders, tourism & travel ban
Countries all over the world applied travel restrictions to limit the coronavirus spread. Airport closures, the suspension of incoming and outgoing flights, and nationwide lockdowns are just some of the measures that countries are implementing in an effort to help contain the pandemic.
The decline of International Tourists during the Pandemic
In 2020, and with the severe impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, international tourism went down by 22% in Q1 and by 65% in the first half of 2020 when compared with 2019 figures.
In March 2020, the UNWTO proposed 3 scenarios for possible declines in arrivals of 58% to 78% for 2020 depending on the start point of the gradual opening of borders and lifting travel restrictions.
Hospitality Sector Hit by the Lockdown
The lockdown due to the pandemic has affected the tourism industry across the globe, and the hotel sector is among the hardest hit.
However, there are still concerns over the lack of reliable information and deteriorating economic environment which are indicated as factors weighing on consumer confidence, especially with the potential new limits on travel as the world comes to grips with the second Covid-19 wave. The concerns over the “second wave” of coronavirus brought on by returning vacationers are wreaking havoc on the world’s tourism industry.
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