The tourism sector has gone through a very difficult period over the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and overall there have been high expectations for this year and potential recovery. However, the war in Ukraine and economic problems have become another obstacle to the recovery of world tourism, and the absence of Russian tourists has been a serious blow to many tour markets in Europe. At the same time, the pandemic is far from over.
Consequences of the war
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has halted the recovery of the European tourism market, as most countries are now much more focused on coping with the wave of Ukrainian refugees.
At the same time, there is the problem of rising inflation and energy prices, as well as the lack of Russian tourists, who are currently extremely limited in travel opportunities due to air travel restrictions, as well as banking sanctions.
According to Euromonitor International, Russian tourists account for 1% of global tourism spending ($9.1 billion in 2021). That number is likely to be halved this year, which will have a significant impact on travel destinations around the world.
The lack of tourists from Russia and Ukraine is expected to result in a loss of $6.9 billion in spending in 2022, as global spending on the tourism sector is expected to reach just 45% of 2019 levels.
Endless Pandemic
While the Ukrainian war is currently overshadowing the Covid-19 pandemic, it should be noted that in some parts of the world the health crisis is far from over and the tourism sector is still feeling the effects strongly.
The regions of Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East have been particularly affected, not only due to the spread of the Omicron variant, but also due to vaccine disparities around the world, as many small economies have not yet reached the required vaccination rates and their recovery, thus , is much slower.
The slowest recovery is usually observed in Asia, as the countries of the region act with great caution.
China is probably the strictest in this regard, with the country pursuing a zero-tolerance policy and lockdown cities to regulate outbreaks. This affects other countries in the region that are heavily dependent on Chinese tourists, such as Thailand.
All in all, global tourism obviously just can’t take a break. The war in Ukraine is a big blow to tourism in Europe, while Covid-19 continues to hold back recovery in other parts of the world. And in both cases it is difficult to predict what the future holds for us.
