The United Nations has said the coronavirus pandemic cost the global tourism sector $1.3 trillion in lost revenue in 2020, as the number of people travelling dropped.
The World Tourism Organization, on Thursday, called it “the worst year in tourism history”, saying the revenue lost last year amounted to “more than 11 times the loss recorded during the 2009 global economic crisis”.
International tourist arrivals fell by one billion, or 74 percent, in 2020 with Asia, the first region to feel the impact of COVID-19, seeing the steepest decline, it added.
“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.
International tourism arrivals had risen by four per cent in 2019 to 1.5 billion, with France the world’s most visited country, followed by Spain and the United States.
According to the organization, most experts do not see a return to pre-pandemic levels of tourism activity happening before 2023.