Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism

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The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travelers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread.^[1] The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that global international tourist arrivals could have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US $0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.^[2]

In many of the world's cities, planned travel went down by 80–90%.^[3] Conflicting and unilateral travel restrictions occurred regionally^[4][5] and many tourist attractions around the world, such as museums, amusement parks, gyms and sports venues closed down. After March 2020, tourist firms' connectivity has skyrocketed. Restaurants are the most significantly impacted subsectors of tourism, followed by airline firms.^[6] UNWTO reported a 65% drop in international tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2020.^[7] Air passenger travel showed a similar decline.^[8] The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released a report in June 2021 stating that the global economy could lose over US$4 trillion as a result of the pandemic.^[9]