As a result of the COVID-19 global pandemic, health and hygiene standards will be the deciding factor for the global tourism market.
Travel restrictions related to the novel coronavirus are still enforced and constantly evolving for all travel destinations around the World. The great majority of destinations have completely stopped international tourism with some even enforcing curfews amongst other rules and regulations.
Depending on the rapid actions of containment, the length of travel restrictions and closing of borders, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) projects international tourism to decline from 78% to 58% year on year for 2020—resulting in a loss of USD910 billion to USD1.2 trillion in revenues from international tourism.
Since tourism is one of the most labor critical industries of the global economy, the COVID-19 crisis is projected to put at risk anywhere from 100 million to 120 million tourism jobs directly.
The tourism sector has certainly entered a tremendously difficult era with uncertainty regarding the determination of health rules for the new normal and how to apply them not withstanding the pains of reservation cancellations, personnel management, and financing restructures.
However, tourism is expected to see signs of recovery by the final quarter of 2020 with the gradual opening of international borders and easing of travel restrictions.
While domestic tourism is projected to recover faster than international tourism, the industry hopes to rejuvenate, but in 2021.
