Coronavirus pandemic could cost global tourism $2 trillion this year

December 1, 2021 iGaming & Gambling Industry Updates

The coronavirus pandemic will likely cost the global tourism sector $2 trillion in lost revenue in 2021.

The UN’s tourism body called the sector’s recovery ‘fragile’ and ‘slow’.

UNWTO data shows international tourist arrivals in 2021 are expected to remain between 70-75% below 2019.

Arrivals in Asia and the Pacific are down by as much as 95%, as many destinations remained closed to non-essential travel.
The emergence of new COVID-19 variants and vaccine accessibility are likely to determine the recovery.
According to the latest forecast by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the same amount was lost in 2020, making it one of the sectors hit hardest by the health crisis.

Despite recent improvements, the report warned that demand for travel could be further affected by “uneven vaccination rates around the world and new COVID-19 strains which had prompted new travel restrictions in some countries.

In the past few days, the emergence of the Omicron variant has led dozens of countries to reinstate restrictions on arrivals, or to delay relaxation in COVID-19 travel and testing rules, leading to wide uncertainty for holiday season travellers worldwide.