Efforts made to restore world tourism industry

“Tourist bubble”, “green corridor”, “green destination”, etc. are popular models that countries are promoting and testing in their attempts to restart the tourism industry. As an industry that brings many socio-economic benefits, the resumption of tourism is expected to act as a “fulcrum” for the recovery and sustainable and inclusive development in the world.

The “tourist bubble” between New Zealand and Australia was officially launched on April 19. (Photo: Reuters)
The “tourist bubble” between New Zealand and Australia was officially launched on April 19. (Photo: Reuters)

On the occasion of World Tourism Day (September 27), United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a message calling for the restarting of the tourism industry after the severe impact of the pandemic. According to the UN, the number of international tourists in the first five months of 2021 decreased by 85% compared to the same period before the pandemic in 2019 and decreased by 65% ​​compared to the same period in 2020.

The world tourism industry suffered a loss of about US$3.3 trillion in 2020 and is forecast to lose US$2.4 trillion in 2021. Notably, countries that rely heavily on international tourism are often developing countries, and the large workforce in this sector is thus a very vulnerable group.

In the context of the complicated epidemic situation, Asian countries have focused on recovering domestic tourism. By the end of August, the hotel occupancy rate and the number of domestic flight passengers in China had increased again, reaching 90% of the same period in 2019.

Malaysia also achieved positive results when opening some locations to welcome domestic tourists who have completed double vaccination. Indonesia deployed green zones, and no COVID-19 corridors in the tourist islands of Bintan, Batam, Bali, after completing vaccination of at least 70% of its people. Indonesia is expected to open its doors to foreign tourists in some locations this October. The "Phuket sandbox" in Thailand is being applied to tourists who have been fully vaccinated and is bringing about significant revenue and the possibility of scaling up the model.

Europe has reopened tourism with the application of the EU Digital COVID Certificate (EUDCC) for travellerswho have completed 2 full doses of COVID-19 vaccinesor tested negative and recovered from the disease. With this “green certificate”, travellers can enter most European countries without having to be quarantined. Italy, France, Spain, Turkey, Iceland and Cyprus have all opened their doors to international visitors. The number of tourists in Greece in July and August has reached 86% of the corresponding figure during the same period in 2019.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has emphasisedthe potential of tourism in promoting prosperity, sustainable and inclusive development, as the “smokeless industry” touches most economic and social sectors. Accelerating vaccination and close coordination in the principles of travel between countries has helped restart tourism, contributing to accelerating recovery and growth, as well as reaching the most vulnerable communities.