Rebound seen for travel, tourism revenues to $385bn in 2021
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But remains below pandemic level
The world is expected to see a rebound in travel and tourism revenue this year with one projection suggesting a figure of around $385 billion, although less than half of pre-COVID-19 levels.
The projected rebound follows early preparations made by countries across the globe for summer 2021 as they moved to revive travel to their destinations and enable tourists to visit safely, according to data supplied by Stock Apps.
The COVID-19 triggered the biggest historical market contraction as countries across the globe imposed lockdown to mitigate the spread of the virus, causing thousands of canceled vacations, and closed hotels. Even though several travel restrictions have been lifted and reopened for the 2021 summer season, the total revenue losses this market is expected to witness this year are still colossal.
According to Statista data, the revenues of the entire sector plummeted by nearly 60 percent year over year to $298.5 billion. While it is expected that the figure will grow by almost 30 percent to $385.8 billion in 2021, it is still $351 billion less than before the pandemic struck.
While the cruise industry remains the worst-hit sector of the global travel and tourism market, the segment is set to witness revenue reaching $6.6 billion, or 76 percent in 2021, less than in 2019. The hotel industry however follows with an expected revenue of $132.3 billion and 64 percent drop in two years. Statistics show the combined revenues of the two sectors will remain $258 billion below the pre-pandemic levels regardless of the fact that millions of tourists decided to go on a vacation in the 2021 season.
Similarly, packaged holidays are forecast to generate $115.7 billion in revenue this year, depicting 54 percent less than in 2019 while vacation rentals follow with a 15 percent drop compared to pre-COVID-19 levels and $71.1 billion in revenue in 2021.
The United States represents the largest travel and tourism industry globally, and is expected to grow by 32 percent year over year and reach $83.3 billion value this year, $62.1 billion less than in 2019 when analysed by geography.
While the revenues of the Chinese market, as the second-largest globally, are forecast to jump by 41 percent year-over-year to $82.4 billion in 2021, still $37 billion below pre-COVID-19 levels, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom are to follow with $23.8 billion, $22.3 billion, and $14 billion in revenue, respectively, nearly half the pre-pandemic levels.
In 2019, the global travel and tourism sector had nearly 1.65 billion users. This figure is expected to amount to $971.1 million in 2021, a massive 679 million drop in two years. Statista survey also showed the total number of people traveling and going on a vacation this year will remain 40 percent below the pre-COVID-19 levels.