INTERNATIONAL. The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has said that 53% of all destinations worldwide had eased the restrictions they placed on international tourism in response to COVID-19 by 1 September. This compared to 40% on 19 July and 22% on 15 June.
The UN agency said that 115 destinations (53%) have eased restrictions, an increase of 28 since 19 July. Of these, two have lifted all restrictions, while the remaining 113 continue to have certain restrictive measures in place.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Coordinated leadership and enhanced cooperation between governments means tourism is slowly but steadily restarting in many parts of the world. Starting to ease restrictions on travel opens also the doors for tourism’s social and economic benefits to return.
“While we must remain vigilant and cautious, we are concerned about those destinations with ongoing full travel restrictions, especially where tourism is a lifeline and economic and social development are under threat.”
The report also shows that:
- Destinations which have eased travel restrictions generally have high levels of health and hygiene infrastructure. They also tend to have comparatively low COVID-19 infection rates.
- Within advanced economies, 79% of tourism destinations have already eased restrictions. In emerging economies, just 47% of destinations have done so.
- 64% of those destinations which have eased have a high or medium dependence on air as a mode of transport for international tourism arrivals.
The report noted that many destinations around the world are “extremely cautious” about easing travel restrictions they introduced in response to the pandemic and some have passed severe measures in an attempt to keep their citizens safe.
93 destinations (43% of all worldwide destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed to tourism, of which 27 have been closed for at least 30 weeks.
More than half of all destinations with borders completely closed to tourism are classified as being among the World’s Most Vulnerable Countries. They include ten SIDS (Small Island Developing States), one Least Developed Country (LDC) and three Land-Locked Developing Countries (LLDCs).
More than half of destinations with full restrictions still in place are also highly dependent on aviation, with at least 70% of their tourist arrivals coming by air, causing significant connectivity impacts for their citizens and economies, noted the agency.
