World Tourism Organization: International tourists in January fell by more than 80% year-on-year, and there may be a significant rebound in the second half of the year

After bidding farewell to the difficult 2020, the global tourism industry suffered another setback at the beginning of 2021. The United Nations World Tourism Organization released the latest issue of the "World Tourism Barometer" on the 31st. It pointed out that in January this year, the number of global international tourists fell by 87% year-on-year due to factors such as countries' tightening borders and tourism policies in response to the epidemic. The promotion and distribution of the new crown vaccine have been slower than expected, which has further delayed the recovery of the tourism industry.

According to the World Tourism Organization, as the Asia-Pacific region continues to maintain the highest level of travel restrictions, the number of international arrivals in January fell the most, reaching 96%; arrivals from Europe and Africa both fell by 85%, while the Middle East fell by 84%. Following the improvement in performance in the last quarter of last year, the number of international tourists to the Americas also dropped by nearly 80% in January.

The World Tourism Organization said that 32% of global tourist destinations were still completely closed to international tourists in early February this year. It is expected that the global tourism industry will still face challenges in the first few months of 2021. Based on current trends, the agency expects that the number of international tourists in the first quarter of 2021 will decrease by approximately 85% compared to the same period in 2019.

Looking forward to the later stage, the World Tourism Organization believes that with the popularization of vaccination, the removal of major travel restrictions, and the European plan to launch the new crown "digital green certificate" and other favorable factors, international travel may rebound significantly in the second half of this year, but it is expected to remain Will be lower than the level before the 2019 epidemic.