The Diplomat
International tourism continues to show signs of a strong and steady recovery from the impact of the pandemic, despite significant and growing economic and geopolitical challenges.
According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, international tourism experienced a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million international arrivals recorded. This figure, compared to the 77 million arrivals recorded between January and May 2021, means that the sector has recovered by almost half (46 per cent) from the pre-pandemic level of 2019.
“Tourism recovery has accelerated in many parts of the world, weathering the challenges that stand in its way,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, who advises, at the same time, caution in the face of “economic headwinds and geopolitical challenges that could affect the sector in the remainder of 2022 and beyond.”
Europe and America lead the recovery
Europe more than quadrupled international arrivals compared to the first five months of 2021 (+350%), driven by strong intra-regional demand and the removal of all travel restrictions in a growing number of countries. The region experienced a particularly strong performance in April (+458%), reflecting a busy Easter period. In the Americas, arrivals more than doubled (+112%). However, the strong rebound is measured against weak 2021 results and arrivals remain overall 36% and 40% below 2019 levels respectively.
The same pattern is observed in other regions. Despite strong growth in the Middle East (+157%) and Africa (+156%), figures remain 54% and 50% below 2019 respectively, and in the case of Asia Pacific, while almost doubling arrivals (+94%), figures are 90% below 2019 as some borders remain closed to non-essential travel. Here, the recent easing of restrictions can be seen in the improved performance in April and May.
