By Chathushka Perera
New York, USA (CWBN)_ The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) stated in a press release that as per latest statistics, the number of international arrivals between January and October fell by about 72 percent, this year, largely owing to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
The reduction in arrivals has in turn triggered a USD 935 billion loss of export revenue from international tourism. UNWTO identified the losses as being 10 times worse off than the losses incurred during the Great Recession of 2009.
Moreover, the UNWTO projected that for the whole of 2020, the decline of arrivals would reach between 70 to 75 percent, dropping to the levels recorded in the 1990s, while the losses imposed would reach well beyond USD 1 trillion. Thus resulting in a global economic downturn of USD 2 trillion.
“Even as the news of a vaccine boosts traveller confidence, there is still a long road to recovery. We thus need to step up our efforts to safely open borders while supporting tourism jobs and businesses. It is ever clearer that tourism is one of the most affected sectors by this unprecedented crisis,” Secretary-General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili said.
Meanwhile, the UNWTO also indicated that the Asia-Pacific region would be worst hit by the developments, weighing an 82 percent drop in arrivals over the first ten months.
