International Tourism most Likely to Bounce Back in 2022, says WTO

The World Tourism Organization disclosed on Tuesday that international travel went down by seventy per cent in the first eight months of 2020 because of the pandemic, but it has predicted that this number will bounce back. However, this won’t happen until the second last quarter of 2021 because of the many travel restrictions related to the pandemic. The real movement will only begin in the year 2022.

Read: UNWTO Recommends Ways to Reopen Tourism

The panel said that the main issue will be the border closures in various countries, travel restrictions, and the shaky confidence of travellers.

Destinations like the UK and US won’t see an increase in travel until a vaccine is launched because of the number of cases in both countries. “This unprecedented decline is having social and economic consequences, and puts millions of jobs and businesses at risk,” warned UN World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

An estimated amount of $61 billion have been lost till date due to the lockdown during the pandemic. A few airlines have restricted flights to only some areas, or travel bubbles.