It is an unfortunate fact that the ease of throwing things into a wheelie bag and traveling far and wide helped spread covid-19 around the world. The effects on leisure travel and destinations that rely on tourism will be felt for years to come. But just as the way we travel may improve as a result, so the chance for countries to rethink tourism industries could turn a bruised and battered industry into a better one.
In 2019, the global travel and tourism industry contributed a huge $9.25 trillion to the global economy. With shutdowns, closed borders, and grounded planes, the travel industry’s shortfalls could amount to 2.8% of the world’s GDP or even more. A full recovery is not expected until 2023, according to estimates of the relatively conservative UN Conference on Trade and Development. Tourism is one of the leading sources of income for many countries. But all nations — big and small — have felt the negative economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic generated by the shortage of travelers.
As experts and authorities continue to predict the future of the travel industry post the covid-19 pandemic, health safety remains key to returning back to normal travel, and not all travel will resurrect at the same pace as we all anticipate leisure travel to possibly see an uptick relatively soon, corporate travel may stay on the back burner for some time.
As we all anxiously look forward to the new normal in the travel and tourism industry, a few things will undoubtedly change for better after the pandemic and among which shall be the growth in inclusive tourism and the impact of travel in everyone’s life as we all had time to be reminded of how important it was to take a few days from your usual routine after we were all undergoing the stay-home orders and lockdowns.
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