Over half the world’s borders are still closed, according to analysis from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). However, 40 percent of all destinations worldwide have now eased the restrictions they placed on international tourism in response to COVID-19, suggesting a “responsible restart of tourism is underway.”
The United Nations specialized agency for tourism has been monitoring global responses to the pandemic from the start of the crisis and the organization’s latest outlook recorded on July 19 shows improvement over the 22% of destinations that had eased restrictions on travel by June 15 and the 3% previously observed by May 15.
The data confirms the trend of a slow but continuous adaptation to the new reality of international tourism.
At the same time, however, of the 87 destinations that have now eased travel restrictions, just four have completely lifted all restrictions, while 83 have eased them while keeping some measures such as the partial closure of borders in place. This latest edition of the UNWTO Travel Restrictions Report also shows that 115 destinations (53% of all destinations worldwide) continue to keep their borders completely closed for tourism.
According to the UNWTO report, destinations with a higher dependency on tourism are more likely to be easing restrictions on travel: Of the 87 destinations that have eased restrictions recently, 20 are Small Island Developing States (SIDS), many of which depend on tourism as a central pillar of employment, economic growth and development. The report also shows that around half (41) of all those destinations that have eased restrictions are in Europe, confirming the leading role of the region for the responsible restart of tourism.
Looking at the 115 destinations that continue to have their borders completely closed to international tourism, the report finds that a majority (88) have been completely closed their borders for international tourism for more than 12 weeks.
The cost related to the travel restrictions introduced in response to COVID-19 has historic dimensions. The UNWTO says that by the end of May, the pandemic had led to US$320 billion in lost tourism revenues, already three times the cost of the 2009 Global Economic Crisis.