|
|
Worldwide, the travel industry lost a billion visitors in 2020, or 73 percent of 2019’s number, researcher site Statista reported. (See “LOCKDOWNS COST U.S. $1.1 TRILLION IN LOST TRAVEL INCOME,” Trends Journal, 23 March 2021.)
This year is, if anything, worse.
During the first five months of 2021, global travel plunged 85 percent below 2019’s level for the same period of time, logging 460 million fewer international arrivals, according to the UN World Tourism Organization, as travel restrictions remained in force in many countries.
Travelers began to return in June but retreated in July and August as the COVID virus’s Delta variant began to sweep the globe.
“Accelerating the pace of vaccination worldwide, working on effective coordination and communication on ever changing travel restrictions while advancing digital tools to facilitate mobility will be critical to rebuild trust in travel and restart tourism” UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said in a statement.
TREND FORECAST: The travel industry likely will be among the last to fully recover from the COVID Wars.
Many hotels have permanently re-structured operations to permanently cut jobs and reduce guest services, making hotel stays less alluring. (See “2020 SHUTDOWN PERMANENTLY ERASED JOBS,” Trends Journal, 20 July 2021.)
Several companies have permanently cut budgets for business travel. (See “TRAVEL AND TOURISM: CRASHING,” Trends Journal, 21 July 2021.)
As we have forecast previously, the travel industry will recover, but only as a shrunken version of what it was before 2020.
However, should politicians continue to fight the COVID War and Presstitutes continue to sell COVID Fear and Hysteria, the travel sector across the business and consumer spectrum will deeply decline.