Global Tourism Lost USD 1.3 Trillion In 2020 – UN

According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the collapse in international travel represents an estimated loss of USD 1.3 trillion in export revenues. This made the year 2020 the worst in terms of tourism in the world.

The loss in the global tourism at the peak of the pandemic, according to the UN, was more than 11 times the loss recorded in the 2009 global economic crisis.

“While much has been made in making safe international travel a possibility, we are aware that the crisis is far from over,” WTO head Zurab Pololikashvili said in the statement released Thursday.

Asia and the Pacific (-84 percent) – was the first region to suffer the impact of the pandemic and the one with the highest level of travel restrictions currently in place – recorded the largest decrease in arrivals in 2020 (300 million fewer).  The Middle East and Africa both recorded a 75 percent decline.

In Kenya, the pandemic hit hard on the tourism sector. The number of visitors arriving dropped by more than 86 percent while the number of hotels that shut down accounted for almost 60 percent of all hotels in the country.

Countries around the world imposed restrictions on travel. Kenya also imposed a cessation of movement in and out of the country in an effort to cut down on the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tourism sector was brought to its knees.