World Tourism Day 2022 calls for a rethink

With the theme of 'Rethinking Tourism', the World Tourism Day this year will focus on re-imagining the sector's growth, both in terms of size and relevance. The Republic of Indonesia will host the official day (27 September), all UNWTO Member States, as well as non-members and stakeholders from across the private sector, are being invited to host their own celebrations as well as to promote the day and its central theme.

UNWTO Secretary-GeneralZurab Pololikashvili said: "The potential of tourism is enormous, and we have a shared responsibility to make sure it is fully realized. On World Tourism Day 2022, UNWTO calls on everyone, from tourism workers to tourists themselves, as well as small businesses, large corporations, and governments to reflect and rethink what we do and how we do it."

According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism saw a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million international arrivals recorded. This compares to 77 million arrivals from January to May 2021 and means that the sector has recovered almost half (46 per cent) of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

But tourists – and their money – are so needed right now. International tourism is a vital source of income for many countries. The foreign exchange earned through tourism is in many places a critical source of funds to finance public spending, investment for much-needed payment of relief and recovery measures, and for servicing debt repayments that have been piling up.

Tourism's impact goes beyond economics. The sector is a key pillar of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with a unique ability to contribute to most – if not all – of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including by providing opportunities for youth and women, and helping preserve and promote natural and cultural heritage.

Europe welcomed more than four times as many international arrivals as in the first five months of 2021 (+350 per cent), boosted by strong intra-regional demand and the removal of all travel restrictions in a growing number of countries. The recovery of tourism has gathered pace in many parts of the world, weathering the challenges standing in its way

The strong growth in the Middle East (+157 per cent) and Africa (+156 per cent) remained 54 per cent and 50 per cent below 2019 levels respectively, and Asia and the Pacific almost doubled arrivals (+94 per cent), though numbers were 90 per cent below 2019, as some borders remained closed to non-essential travel.

In terms of international tourism receipts earned in destinations, a growing number of countries – the Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Seychelles, Romania, North Macedonia, Saint Lucia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Albania, Pakistan, Sudan, Türkiye, Bangladesh, El Salvador, Mexico, Croatia and Portugal – have fully recovered their pre-pandemic levels.

Rising tourism spending out of the major source markets is consistent with the observed recovery. International expenditure by tourists from France, Germany, Italy and the United States is now at 70 per cent to 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while spending from India, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar has already exceeded 2019 levels.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the overall reduction in international air capacity in 2022 will be limited to 20 per cent to 25 per cent of seats offered by airlines as compared to 2019. Such resilience is also reflected in hotel occupancy rates. Based on data from the industry benchmarking firm STR, global occupancy rates climbed to 66 per cent in June 2022, from 43 per cent in January.

Tourism is a significant part of many national economies, and the immediate and immense shock to the tourism sector resulting from the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the wider economy. As governments around the world have introduced unprecedented measures to contain the virus, restrictions on travel, business operations, and people-to-people interactions have brought the tourism economy to a standstill. Many countries are now entering a new phase in fighting the virus while at the same time managing the re-opening of the tourism economy. This is a complex and challenging task, and quantifying the impact on the tourism economy is difficult.

Countries should also ensure that their tourism businesses of all sizes can survive the current crisis so that the power of the sector can be tapped when tourists return. This requires measures such as credit lines for tourism businesses and the provision of social protection for tourism workers.

In addition, digital technologies need to be used to increase security and boost travellers' confidence. It is also time to step up digitalization among companies and the tourism workforce, upskilling the sector to become more resilient.