Wednesday, December 4, 2024
Islamabad (News International / Pakistan Point News - 11th Dec, 2024 ) The United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) has said that despite economic, geographical and climatic problems, global tourism will fully recover from the negative effects of the Covid pandemic by the end of this year.
The organization has said in its latest report on the global tourism situation (World Tourism Barometer) that the number of tourists arriving in most regions of the world from January to September was much higher than in 2019.
During this period, 1.1 billion people traveled internationally.
UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili has called this good news for economies around the world.
He says that the revival of the tourism industry has created millions of new jobs and boosted small businesses. In addition, it is also benefiting many economies in terms of maintaining the balance of payments and revenue generation.
Global Tourism Situation
According to the barometer, the tourism sector has strengthened rapidly in the first nine months of the year due to the increase in tourism demand in Europe after the epidemic, the improved performance of major resource markets around the world and the full recovery of activities in tourism regions in Asia and the Pacific.
An increase in air connectivity and visa facilities is also a major reason for this.
During this period, tourism in the Middle East has grown by 29% compared to 2019, while Europe has seen growth of more than one percent and Africa has seen growth of more than six percent compared to 2019. The tourism industry in the Americas has recovered to 97% compared to the pre-pandemic period.
In Asia and the Pacific, this rate was 85%, compared to 66% in 2023.
Northern Africa saw a general increase in tourist arrivals during the summer, and in the third quarter of this year, tourist arrivals worldwide were recorded at 99% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The barometer shows that in the first nine months of this year, 60 of the 111 major tourist destinations around the world saw an increase in arrivals compared to 2019.
During this period, Qatar, Albania, Saudi Arabia, Curacao, Tanzania, Colombia and Andorra saw tourist arrivals significantly higher than usual.
Tourism receipts increase
Currently, complete tourism data is available for 43 countries, of which 35 saw tourist spending in the first eight months of this year higher than before the pandemic. Some countries even saw double-digit growth in this regard.
Serbia ranked first in this regard, while Pakistan, Romania, Japan, Portugal, Nicaragua and Tanzania also saw significant increases in tourism receipts.
Japan, Turkey and France also saw double-digit growth in the period up to September. In Spain and Italy, tourism receipts were significantly higher than before the pandemic in the period up to August. This was followed by the UK, Canada and Australia, with the tourism sector earning the most money in the US, where it grew by 7% by September.
Inflation and weather severity
UN Tourism said that although the number of tourists visiting most tourist destinations (countries) in the world this year had already increased compared to the pre-pandemic period last year, there is still room for recovery in many sub-regions and destinations.
As in the previous year, this year too there was a strong export revenue from international tourism, which was attributed to a high average increase in spending per visit.
Longer stays at tourist destinations also played a role in this.
According to UN Tourism, despite the good results, tourism faces a number of economic, geopolitical and climatic problems. The sector is still facing inflation, with high transport and accommodation costs and volatile oil prices playing a major role. Major conflicts and tensions around the world are also affecting consumer confidence, while severe weather events and staff shortages are also hindering improved tourism performance.
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