Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the tourism industry due to the resulting travel restrictions as well as slump in demand among travelers. The tourism industry has been massively affected by the spread of coronavirus, as many countries have introduced travel restrictions in an attempt to contain its spread.[1] The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that global international tourist arrivals could have decreased by 58% to 78% in 2020, leading to a potential loss of US $0.9–1.2 trillion in international tourism receipts.[2]
In many of the world's cities, planned travel went down by 80–90%.[3] Conflicting and unilateral travel restrictions occurred regionally[4][5] and many tourist attractions around the world, such as museums, amusement parks, gyms and sports venues closed down. After March 2020, tourist firms' connectivity has skyrocketed. Restaurants are the most significantly impacted subsectors of tourism, followed by airline firms.[6] UNWTO reported a 65% drop in international tourist arrivals in the first six months of 2020.[7] Air passenger travel showed a similar decline.[8] The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development released a report in June 2021 stating that the global economy could lose over US$4 trillion as a result of the pandemic.[9]
Tourism under the pandemic[edit]
Some people have taken advantage of airlines drastically reducing their fares to travel for leisure despite multiple warnings to remain at home, along with two-week self-quarantine requirements upon arrival or return from travel.[10] A number of college students tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from traditional spring break destinations such as the Florida beaches, South Padre Island, and Cabo San Lucas.[11]
Dubai received global scrutiny for opening tourism too soon, despite a high rate of COVID-positive cases detected in the emirate. At least 300,000 people travelled to and from UAE and the U.K. in the months of November and December 2020. In the early months of the pandemic, the situation was reportedly handled well by the emirate. However, around New Year's Eve tourists and locals were reported to be attending parties without social distancing or face-masks. Accusations that Dubai was acting as a "super-spreader" of the virus, forced authorities of the emirate to close all bars and pubs for a month on 1 February 2021.[12]
Tourism and vaccination[edit]
Many tourism venues such as museums, visitor centers, restaurants and hotels mandated COVID-19 vaccination for their staff and/or visitors, and such venues were known as "vaccinated venues".[13] Research has shown that tourists have varying levels of belief on COVID-19 vaccination in terms of its effectiveness and side effects, which have impact on the preferences of tourists to preference to visit or use "vaccinated venues".[13]
The impacts on the job market[edit]
The World Health Organization reported the coronavirus as a global health risk at the end of January 2020. Many businesses stopped their operations, and many of them were unable to survive during this crisis. There was a large number of bankruptcies, lay-offs, and requests for aid. As people needed to survive without income, many people applied for unemployment in the United States. Tourism is one of the industries that was impacted deeply, and some of the companies are still struggling with the labor shortage issue as employees prefer to stay at home. For instance, there are a couple of airlines that have cancelled a huge number of their flights in the United States in past couple of weeks due to this issue.[82] Budget hotels are hugely impacted due to their characteristics, and are vulnerable as they are mostly owned by individuals lacking finances, manpower, strategy, or a plan to overcome the crisis.[39]