Covid-19 Impact on tourism economy UNWTO: Global Tourist Arrivals More than Double in January 2022 by GTP editing team 28 March 2022 written by GTP editing team 28 March 2022 0 comments Share 0FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 21 Global international tourist arrivals increased by 130 percent in the first month of the year over January 2021 to 18 million more visitors which is equal to the total increase for the whole of 2021, said the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently. More specifically, according to its latest findings, the UNWTO is expecting international tourism to continue its recovery this year as more destinations fully lift Covid-19 restrictions. However, UNWTO analysts are wary of Russia’s war on Ukraine which is posing new challenges affecting confidence in global travel and particularly intra-European travel. Based on UNWTO data, all regions enjoyed a significant rebound in January 2022, with Europe still posting the strongest results up by 199 percent but still down by 53 percent over pre-Covid 2019 levels. The Americas did well too up by 97 percent, with international arrivals still around half of pre-pandemic levels at -52 percent. Photo source: @UNWTO In terms of subregions, Western Europe posted best results, recording four times more arrivals in January 2022 than in the same month a year earlier, but still 58 percent down on 2019. Showing the fastest rates of recovery towards pre-Covid 2019 levels were Southern and Mediterranean Europe down by 41 percent and the Caribbean down by 38 percent. Indicatively, some small European and Central American destinations recorded the best results compared to 2019: Seychelles (-27 percent), Bulgaria and Curaçao (both -20 percent), El Salvador (-19 percent), Serbia and Maldives (both -13 percent), Dominican Republic (-11 percent), Albania (-7 percent) and Andorra (-3 percent) while Bosnia and Herzegovina saw a 2 percent increase over pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Turkey and Mexico marked declines of 16 percent and 24 percent, respectively compared to 2019. Concern about impact of Russia-Ukraine crisis on costs Looking ahead, WTO analysts are expressing concern about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on costs – detours in long-haul flights between Europe and East Asia translates into longer flights and higher costs as well as on traveler numbers from the two countries. Indicatively, Russia and Ukraine accounted for a combined 3 percent of global spending on international tourism in 2020 and at least 14 billion dollars in global tourism receipts could be lost if the conflict is prolonged, said the WTO. At the same time, as destinations, Russia and Ukraine accounted for 4 percent of all international arrivals in Europe but only 1 percent of Europe’s international tourism receipts in 2020. The WTO goes on to add that the crisis is expected to add further pressure to already challenging economic conditions, undermining consumer confidence and raising investment uncertainty. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), global economic growth could be more than 1 percent lower in 2022 than previously projected. Join the 15,000+ travel executives who read our newsletter Follow GTP Headlines on Google News to keep up to date with all the latest on tourism and travel in Greece. Share 0 FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail GTP editing team This is the team byline for GTP. The copyrights for these articles are owned by GTP. They may not be redistributed without the permission of the owner. previous post EU Urges Member States to Lift Last Remaining Covid-19 Travel Restrictions next post Covid-19: Up-to-date Info for Tourists in Greece You may also like Greece’s Hotel Market Sees Major Investments Over Four Months 5 February 2025 Greek Tourism Ministry Monitors Santorini Situation as Seismic Activity Continues 5 February 2025 Global Air Passenger Demand Reaches Record High in 2024, IATA Reports 5 February 2025 Greek PM Reassures Public About Santorini’s Ongoing Seismic Activity 5 February 2025 Milos: Ministry Suspends 5-star Hotel Construction Near Sarakiniko Beach 5 February 2025 ELIME and HELMEPA Join Forces for Safer, More Sustainable Greek Ports 5 February 2025 Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ