World tourism alarm: 2,000 billion damage possible
vaccination against covid It is not uniform in the world and the presence of variants such as omicron Generate a constant unknown: a landscape that is not at all ideal for tourism, which is facing bloody losses for the second year in a row. Perhaps closer to the $2,000 billion recorded last year, despite some signs of improvement in the third quarter of 2021. This is the forecast of the World Tourism Organization (For), a specialized body of the United Nations, which warns of an economic recovery that is still “slow and fragile” to give the region solid prospects. An alarm signal launched on the eve of the 24th General Assembly of the OMT – scheduled from 30 November to 3 December madrid – And as the new restrictions come for the concern caused by the Omicron version.
According to the latest OMT data, the number of international tourists between July and September has increased by 58% compared to the same period in 2020. An “encouraging” figure according to the secretary general of OMT, Zurab. pololikashvili, but there is still a long way to go from pre-pandemic figures. “Tourist movement is still down 76%,” says Pololikashvili. problem also affectsItaly,
According to OMT, the decline in international tourist arrivals between January and August this year was 61 per cent lower than the same period in 2019. Spain: -71% in the same period.
Instead, it’s gotten a little better so far, because Germany I France (for which the month of September is also included in the OMT data), which registered a decrease of 55% and 44% respectively in international tourists. For OMT, the resumption of tourism cannot be separated from a coordinated response by countries “in terms of sanctions” through tools such as “harmonic safety protocols” and green passes.
And all this becomes “even more important” at a time when “covid cases are increasing” and “new forms of coronavirus are emerging” in different regions of the world. The future of the region after the effects of the pandemic will be the central theme of the general assembly beginning Tuesday in Madrid, the city where the OMT headquarters are located, after Morocco was chosen to host the meeting, a country initially expected to welcome it. was indicated. , he pulled back following the worsening of his Covid-linked health condition.
