International Tourism Numbers To Drop Between 58% to 78% In 2020

Tourism analysts have said the international tourism Industry could lose over more than $1Trillion and can reduce Global GDP by Up to 2.8% as international tourist numbers in 2020 could decline by 58% to 78%.

It is estimated that visitor spending could plummet from the 2019 figure of $1.5 trillion to between $310 billion and $570 billion in 2020. It would translate to a loss of $910 billion to $1.2 trillion in tourism exports.

Tourism is one of the sectors that have been hit hardest by the pandemic, according to the World Tourism Organization, the top countries with the biggest tourism revenue loss due to COVID-19 (Jan-April 2020) were the US at $30.71 million and Spain at $9.74 million.

In 2019 alone, there were 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals and 8.8 billion domestic arrivals, during the first four months of 2020, the US saw the highest loss in tourism revenue, losing $30.71 billion.

Additionally, between January and August 2020, the number of international tourist arrivals dropped by 70% according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The 70% drop resulted in a $730 billion loss for tourism exports. This was eight times the losses experienced throughout the 2009 global financial crisis. APAC led the way with a 79 percent drop while Africa and EMEA shed 69 percent each.

According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report, a decline in global tourism could lead to the loss of between 100 million and 120 million direct jobs in the sector.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which saw the closure of airports as early as March, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) announced that in March that up to 50 million jobs were at risk globally owing to the pandemic.

In 2019, tourism accounted for 10 percent of all exports in Africa. On a global scale, the sector generated 7% of all trades in 2019 and employed one in every ten people directly and indirectly.

Tourism is ranked as the third-largest export sector in the global economy. Tourism accounts for more than 30% of exports for most Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The figure actually goes as high as 90% for some countries according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

However, the outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic hit hardest the tourism sector in all countries following the closure of airports and restrictions on movement which directly put an end to tours by both foreign and local tourists globally.