The pandemic brought the world to a standstill, tourism being one of the industries that suffered the most. 2020 was registered in the books as ”the worst year in tourism history”. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) international tourist arrivals in 2021 increased by just 11 percent, as travel restrictions remained in place in many parts of the world.
Three years later, optimism seems to have finally returned to the industry. “Tourism always comes back,” UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololiksahvili said at the inauguration ceremony of ITB Berlin 2023, as the world’s leading tourism trade fair celebrates its first in-person event since 2019.
Global tourism bounced back strongly in 2022, as international tourist arrivals more than doubled compared to the previous two years. The recent reopening of China further fueled optimism in the tourism sector as Asia lagged behind other regions in the recovery from the Covid-19 shock.
Tourism always comes back.
Zurab Pololiksahvili, UNWTO Secretary-General
According to UNWTO estimates, international tourist arrivals could reach 80 to 95 percent of pre-pandemic levels this year, depending on how quickly travel bounces back across Asia. Last year, international tourist arrivals in Asia and the Pacific trailed pre-pandemic levels by more than 75 percent, while Europe and the Middle East came within 20 percent of 2019 numbers.
Before the pandemic, the global tourism sector had seen almost uninterrupted growth for decades. According to the WEF, the number of international arrivals went from 277 million in 1980 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2019. The two largest crises of the past decades, the SARS epidemic of 2003 and the global financial crisis of 2009, were minor disruptions compared to pandemic of 2020.
his week’s event was the first in-person ITB for four years and comes as the sector’s recovery is well underway. According to UNWTO, international tourism could reach 80 to 95% of pre-pandemic numbers by the end of the year, with 70 million international arrivals recorded in January alone (more than double the number of January 2022).
The return of ITB Berlin from the 7th to the 10th of March was heralded by UNWTO as proof of strong confidence in travel as “the ultimate barometer of trust”. UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili was invited to open the event, alongside Germany’s Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey, and public and private sector leaders.
UNWTO reinforced the importance of education, training and investments for tourism’s ability to deliver on its potential. It announced a new partnership that will see the Organization work with Saudi Arabia to promote education and professional development in tourism. UNWTO also signed a new agreement with the Business School of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts to partner towards the creation of a new Bachelor of Science degree in International Sustainable Tourism.
The key message of investing in people was also stressed as UNWTO took part in a special Industry Roundtable. The event built on UNWTO’s status as the bridge between the public and private sectors. Recognizing the vital need for more and better-targeted investments to put transformative plans into action, UNWTO also confirmed that World Tourism Day 2023 will be celebrated around the theme of “Tourism and Green Investments”.
Against the backdrop of ITB Berlin, UNWTO released a new report highlighting the progress that global tourism has made in measuring greenhouse gas emissions. “Climate Action in the Tourism Sector” was developed by UNWTO with support from the German Government and in collaboration with UN Climate Change (UNFCCC). The recommendations will help ensure more reliable measurements of GHG emissions towards fulfilling the commitments of the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.
