Global Tourism

Press Reader

By Daniela Lopez Escobar

28 02 23

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By Tania Lee

Updated 21/09/2021

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Can a post-vaccine return to travel be smarter and greener than it was before March 2020? Some in the tourism industry are betting on it. Tourism, which grew faster than the global gross domestic product for the past nine years, has been decimated by the pandemic. Once accounting for 10 percent of employment worldwide, the sector is poised to shed 121 million jobs, with losses projected at a minimum of $3.4 trillion, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.

But in the lull, some in the tourism industry are planning for a post-vaccine return to travel that’s better than it was before March 2020 — greener, smarter and less crowded. 

Australia's domestic tourism sector suffered an $11.7 billion hit between April and May, as coronavirus restrictions wreaked havoc on travel and holiday plans.

Backpackers prepared to pick fruit or work as au pairs could become the exception to Australia's inbound travel ban under a pilot proposal by farm and tourism groups.

The tourism industry is warning of hundreds of thousands of job losses and a complete collapse of the sector, if the Federal Government does not extend its coronavirus wage subsidy scheme for another six months beyond the September end date.

The pandemic has devastated global tourism, and many will say ‘good riddance’ to overcrowded cities and rubbish-strewn natural wonders. Is there any way to reinvent an industry that does so much damage? 

Technological advances have changed the way we travel, and these new developments promise an even more interactive and exciting experience. Do you want to know what it has in store for us in the not-too-distant future?

On World Tourism Day, it’s worth pointing out that politics and tourism don’t exist independently of each other — they collide.

Cairns has already lost $200m in bookings, and Gold Coast operators are expecting to lose $400m, with small businesses worst hit.

The enormous toll of COVID-19 on international tourism has now become clear, with World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data showing the cost up to May was already three times that of the 2009 Global Economic Crisis. As the situation continues to evolve, the United Nations specialized agency has provided the first comprehensive insight into the impact of the pandemic, both in tourist numbers and lost revenues, ahead of the upcoming release of up-to-date information on travel restrictions worldwide.

To support the Travel & Tourism sector, we have created information hubs to help us all through this difficult time and deliver the latest information that you need.

Without a steady influx of tourism revenue, many countries could face severe economic damage. As the global travel and tourism industry stalls, the spillover effects to global employment are wide-reaching. A total of 330 million jobs are supported by this industry around the world, and it contributes 10%, or $8.9 trillion to global GDP each year. Today’s infographic uses data from the World Travel & Tourism Council, and it highlights the countries that depend the most on the travel and tourism industry according to employment—quantifying the scale that the industry contributes to the health of the global economy.

A powerpoint on Covid-19's impacts on Tourism, containing lots of links to further information, videos etc. Based on information from World Tourist Organisation, World Economic Forum and a few other tourism organisations by Alison Collis.

As Canberra determines its next steps regarding Beijing's warning against travel to Australia, so too are the Chinese-Australian diaspora, who may be unduly affected by the move's diplomatic fallout. On Saturday, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued an alert warning against travel to Australia, citing a "significant increase" in racist attacks on "Chinese and Asian people".

Overseas arrivals in Australia plunged 99.7 per cent in April to just 21,170 people, compared to 1.7 million in same month last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Any hopes that domestic tourists would help keep businesses alive after they were cut off from China (our biggest source of inbound tourists) in February and the rest of the world in late March were dashed as Australians were ordered into lock-down and states raised their borders for the first time in a century. The Tourism Transport Forum estimates the industry has been losing $10 billion a month.

Young Australians are ditching their rite-of-passage plans for big overseas trips and spending their savings discovering their own backyard.

The youth travel giant Contiki has launched a series of sell-out trips around Australia for the young domestic market and they've found millennials and Gen Z-ers are desperate to travel – and eager to do it here.