As global economies gradually emerge from the throes of COVID-19 pandemic, the World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, has stressed the need for vigilance, responsibility, and international cooperation.
This is coming on the heels of a fresh report from the United Nations specialized agency which indicated that 3% of all global destinations have now taken steps to ease travel restrictions.
The fourth edition of UNWTO’s COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions: A Global Review for Tourism report released earlier this week looked at the measures of 217 destinations worldwide as of 18th of May 2020.
The research showed that 7 destinations have eased travel restrictions for international tourism purposes. At the same time, several more destinations are engaged in significant discussions about the re-opening of borders.
According to UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, this is a welcomed development capable of triggering the much-required growth.
“The timely and responsible easing of travel restrictions will help ensure the many social and economic benefits that tourism guarantees will return in a sustainable way. This will contribute to the livelihoods of many millions of people around the world. The sector is a driver of sustainable development and a pillar of economies” he said.
Pololikashvili also welcomed the growing confidence in the global tourism sector, noting it stands ready to return to growth.
While tourism has been the hardest hit of all the world’s major economic sectors, UNWTO had led a joint response and last week released its Global Guidelines to Reopen Tourism. The guidelines outlined the steps governments and the private sector can take to accelerate recovery in the months ahead.
Looking into global travel restrictions more closely, the UNWTO research showed that, the more important tourism is to the economies of individual destinations, the more likely they are to have introduced complete border closures. In the case of Small Island Developing States, SIDS destinations, 85% continue to have their borders completely closed for tourism purposes.
All UNWTO regions have more than 65% of their destinations completely closed to tourism: Africa (74%), Americas (86%), Asia and the Pacific (67%), Europe (74%), and the Middle East (69%).
The COVID-19-Related Travel Restrictions report also broke down the level and type of travel restrictions in place, including the prevalence of flight suspensions and measures including compulsory self-isolation and quarantine of tourist arrivals.
