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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]
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]
Many tourism venues such as museums, visitor centers, restaurants and hotels mandated COVID-19 vaccination for their staff 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]
As a result of the pandemic, many countries and regions have imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other restrictions for citizens or recent travellers to the most affected areas. [14] Other countries and regions have imposed global restrictions that apply to all foreign countries and territories, or prevent their own citizens from travelling overseas without good reason. [15]
Together with a decreased willingness to travel, the restrictions have had a negative economic impact on the travel sector in those regions. A possible long-term impact has been a decline of business travel and international conferencing, and the rise of their virtual, online equivalents. [16] Concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19. [17] [18]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 65% year-on-year. [19] Angkor Wat, usually crowded with thousands of tourists per day, was left almost deserted, with an average of 22 ticket sales per day for the whole Angkor National Park during April 2020. [20] [21] [22]
Cambodia has banned entry of foreign visitors from six countries – the United States, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, and Iran – since mid-March and has imposed entry restrictions for all foreigners since 30 March to curb COVID-19. [23] [ failed verification ]
Cambodia's tourism industry, which amounted to 4.92 billion US dollars, is currently being hit hardest by the ravaging pandemic. A tourism data showed that Cambodia received a total of 223,400 foreign tourists in March, a decrease of 65 percent over the same month last year. [24] More than 600 hotels nationwide had closed by June, and more than 10,000 tourism sector staff were made unemployed. [22]
Tourism in China has been hit hard by travel restrictions and fears of contagion, including a ban on both domestic and international tour groups. [25]
Foreign arrivals in February 2020 fell by 96% year-on-year and by 99% year-on-year in March 2020. [26] [27]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 67% year-on-year. [28]
Tourism has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, amid social distancing rules since 26 March 2020, including a ban of organised domestic tours and all tourist attractions closed. [29]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 67% year-on-year. [30]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 64.11% year-on-year. [31]
Israel closed its borders to international tourists early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the number of international tourists who visited Israel in October 2020 stood at 738,000; compared to the same time period in 2019, when approximately 3.295 million tourists visited Israel. In October 2020, the Israeli tourism industry lost about 12.1₪ billion since January. [32]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 94% year-on-year. [33] By mid-April, daily arrivals of foreigners had fallen by nearly 100% year-on-year. [34]
On 16 March 2020, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture announces that several tourist attraction around Malaysia will remain closed until 30 March 2020 which includes tourist information center, National Arts Gallery, craft centers, Lenggong Archaeological Museum, National Archives of Malaysia, memorial centers and National Library of Malaysia. [35]
In South Korea, Korea Association of Travel Agents asked for government support to offset the industry's ballooning losses from a slew of travel cancellations since the COVID-19 pandemic. South Korea's largest travel agencies, Hana Tour and Mode Tour, either, reporting 10 billion won in damage from cancellations. [36]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 95% year-on-year. [37]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 70.8% year-on-year. [38]
The current outbreak of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Thailand is a crisis for the tourism industry and economy. [39] Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 76% year-on-year, and tourist spending fell 78% year-on-year. [40] With the Thai border closed and most international flights banned since 4 April, both tourist arrivals and spending in April 2020 have fell to zero. [41]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 68% year-on-year. [42]
Foreign arrivals in April 2020 fell by 98% year-on-year. [43]
Due to coronavirus pandemic, Dubai's passenger traffic went down by 70% in 2020. Surging cases have led the UAE's government to prompt countries to halt flights to the country. [44]
In efforts to control the spread of Covid-19, various travel restrictions in Bahrain led the tourism sector to witness losses over BD 1 billion. As stated by Bahrain’s Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani, the country lost nearly BD 108 million per month following plunge of 29,000 visitors per day. [45]
[46] The number of foreign tourists who visited Bosnia's Federation in March plummeted 79% on the year, to 9,660, the entity's statistical office said.
Foreign tourists spent 19,089 overnights in the Federation in March, down 77% year-on-year, the Federation's statistical office said on Wednesday.
The total number of tourists who visited the Federation in March fell by 75% on the year to 16,186. Total tourist overnights decreased by 73% to 31,881.
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 79% year-on-year. [46]
Bulgaria banned the entry of foreigners in March due to the coronavirus epidemic. [23]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 44% year-on-year. [47] Travelers from Greece and Serbia on business trips or with family ties, and diplomats, humanitarian and transport workers will be allowed to enter Bulgaria from 1 June without undergoing a 14-day quarantine, said Bulgarian Premier Boyko Borisov.
Early data indicated that foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 75% year-on-year. [48]
Foreign arrivals fell by 47% year-on-year and tourism revenue fell by 71% year-on-year in March 2020. [49]
Foreign arrivals fell by 99% year-on-year and domestic tourism fell by 95% year-on-year in April 2020. [50]
Montenegro relies on tourism for 25% of its GDP. 2020 saw a 15.3% fall in GDP as a result of the decline in tourism. [51]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 66% year-on-year. [52]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 78% year-on-year. [53]
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 64% year-on-year. [54] In May 2021, a report showed that tourism had fallen 76% during the month of March. The numbers showed a plummet of 90% considering the time previous to the pandemic of March 2019 but still higher than registered last February 2021. The government registered the visit of more than 109,000 French citizens but only 18,000 British citizens during March 2021. [55]
Tourism bodies have suggested that the total economic cost to the sector, as of 11 February 2020, would be A$4.5 billion. Casino earnings are expected to fall. [56] At least two localities in Australia, Cairns and the Gold Coast, have reported already lost earnings of more than $600 million. [57]
The Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) called on the Government of Australia for financial support especially in light of the large number of small businesses affected. [58]
In March, national travel agency Flight Centre has indefinitely closed 100 stores throughout Australia, due to significantly lower demand for travel. [59] It also suffered a 75% decline in share price, [60] and announced that 6,000 staff would be made redundant or placed on unpaid leave globally. [61]
Tourism in Fiji has been affected greatly by the global pandemic
Foreign arrivals in March 2020 fell by 51% year-on-year. [62]
The Consejo Nacional Empresarial Turístico (National Tourism Business Council, CNET) sent two letters in March to Alfonso Romo, Chief of Staff to the President of Mexico, asking for government support for the sector. Tourism in Mexico suffered the closure of 4,000 hotels (52,400 rooms) and 2,000 restaurants, while the airline industry lost MXN $30 billion (US$1.3 billion) through March. [63]
Tourism in Hawaii went on hiatus. Tourist arrivals in Hawaii down nearly 100% in April 2020 [64] and its 14-day mandatory quarantine kept tourism low. [64] A number of tourists who came to the state but did not follow the quarantine were arrested. [65] In June 2020, Hawaii had still not set a date for reopening to out-of-state tourism. [66] As of 16 June, the quarantine would be lifted for inter-island tourism. [67]
Florida tourism had a year-over-year 11% drop in the first quarter of 2020. [68]
During the pandemic in Door County, Wisconsin, hundreds of seasonal residents relocated to the county earlier in the spring than they typically do. [69]
In 2020, staycations became popular in the United States, where most people spent their vacation time at or close to home. Most vacation travel was done by car, as gas prices are low and many people prefer to wait to the last minute to plan trips due to uncertainties. There were sharp declines in travel by air, cruise ship, bus and rail. [70]
As the 2nd largest hit country by the COVID-19 pandemic, after the US, Brazil's tourism industry suffered greatly. Tourism's net contribution to the Brazilian nominal GDP in 2020 saw a 53% decrease since last year (270.8B BRL and 143.8B BRL, respectively). [71]
In Macau, the world's top gambling destination by revenue, all casinos were closed for 15 days in February 2020 [72] and suffered a year-on-year revenue drop of 88%, the worst ever recorded in the territory. [73]
On 17 March, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered all casinos closed for 30 days. [74]
Cruise lines had to cancel sailings after the outbreak of the pandemic. Bookings and cancellations grew as extensive media coverage of ill passengers on quarantined ships hurt the industry's image. In May 2020, Norwegian Cruise Line posted a quarterly loss of $1.88 billion [75] and warned it may go out of business. [76] Furthermore, many cruise ships were reluctant to sail from their home port, for fear that they will not be allowed to anchor at foreign destinations if access is denied to the cruise ship, leaving passengers stranded on the ship for maybe months on end.
On 11 April 2020, only 3 percent of hotels in Austin, Texas were occupied. On this date, 342 rooms were occupied, compared to the 10,777 rooms that had been occupied on the same date in 2019. [77]
Hertz Global Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 22 May 2020. It had not been given access to the funds that the United States designated to bail out airlines. [78]
The pandemic has affected the global food-industry as authorities close down restaurants and bars to slow the spread of the virus. Across the world, restaurants' daily traffic dropped precipitously compared to the same period in 2019. [79] Closures of restaurants caused a ripple-effect among related industries such as food production, liquor-, wine-, and beer-production, food and beverage shipping, fishing, and farming. [80] [81]
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]
Tourism plays a significant part in the economic life of England. In 2018, the United Kingdom as a whole was the world's 10th most visited country for tourists, and 17 of the United Kingdom's 25 UNESCO World Heritage Sites fall within England.
Tourism in the United Kingdom is a major industry and contributor to the U.K. economy, which is the world's 10th biggest tourist destination, with over 40.1 million visiting in 2019, contributing a total of £234 billion to the GDP.
International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalisation has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes". The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 500,000 people are in flight at any one time.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Singapore was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first case in Singapore was confirmed on 23 January 2020. Early cases were primarily imported until local transmission began to develop in February and March. In late March and April, COVID-19 clusters were detected at multiple migrant worker dormitories, which soon contributed to an overwhelming proportion of new cases in the country.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Thailand was the first country to report a case outside China, on 13 January 2020. As of 2 April 2022, the country has reported a cumulative total of 3,684,755 confirmed cases, with 25,318 deaths from the disease, and currently ranked fourth in the number of cases in Southeast Asia, behind Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. As of 19 March 2023 in Taiwan, 10,231,343 are confirmed cases, including 18,775 deaths.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia was a part of the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January 2020, in Victoria, when a man who had returned from Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, tested positive for the virus. As of 6 August 2022, Australia has reported over 11,350,000 cases and 19,265 deaths, with Victoria's 2020 second wave having the highest fatality rate per case.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries and territories imposed quarantines, entry bans, or other travel restrictions for citizens of or recent travelers to the most affected areas. Some countries and territories imposed global restrictions that apply to all foreign countries and territories, or prevented their own citizens from travelling overseas.
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Cyprus on 9 March 2020. Data released by the Cypriot government includes cases in the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, but does not include cases in Northern Cyprus due to the long-running Cyprus dispute.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The first imported case in Cambodia was detected in Sihanoukville on 27 January 2020. Although a number of imported cases and transmission to direct contacts were confirmed throughout 2020, no community transmission was detected until 29 November 2020. As of July 2021, Phnom Penh has been the most affected province with the majority of infections and deaths. Banteay Meanchey has the second-highest number of infections, whereas Kandal has second-highest number of deaths.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Maldives was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have spread to Maldives on 7 March 2020 from a 69-year-old Italian tourist who had returned to Italy after spending holidays in Kuredu Resort & Spa. The Health Protection Agency of Maldives confirmed two cases in Maldives, both employees of the resort. Following this, the hotel was locked down with several tourists stranded on the island. As of 11 March, the resorts of Kuredu, Vilamendhoo, Batalaa, and Kuramathi island were also placed under temporary quarantine. Schools were closed as a precaution.
The COVID-19 recession was a global economic recession caused by COVID-19 lockdowns. The recession began in most countries in February 2020. After a year of global economic slowdown that saw stagnation of economic growth and consumer activity, the COVID-19 lockdowns and other precautions taken in early 2020 drove the global economy into crisis. Within seven months, every advanced economy had fallen to recession.
This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this outbreak began in December 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Cook Islands is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. As of 30 October 2021, 12,841 first doses and 12,498 second doses of vaccine had been administered, which represents over 97% of the eligible population (12+) fully vaccinated.
The COVID-11 pandemic in Lesotho is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Lesotho on 13 May 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused far-reaching economic consequences including the COVID-19 recession, the second largest global recession in recent history, decreased business in the services sector during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the 2020 stock market crash, the impact of COVID-19 on financial markets, the 2021–2023 global supply chain crisis, the 2021–2023 inflation surge, shortages related to the COVID-19 pandemic including the 2020–present global chip shortage, panic buying, and price gouging. The pandemic led to governments providing an unprecedented amount of stimulus, and was also a factor in the 2021–2022 global energy crisis and 2022–2023 food crises.
This article documents the chronology of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Some developments may become known or fully understood only in retrospect. Reporting on this pandemic began in December 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia has had a significant impact on the Malaysian economy, leading to the devaluation of the Malaysian ringgit (MYR) and the decline in the country's gross domestic product. The pandemic also adversely affected several key sectors including entertainment, markets, retail, hospitality, and tourism. Besides shortages in goods and services, many businesses had to cope with social distancing and lockdown restrictions, which affected their operations and revenue. The pandemic also drew attention to workplace safety and the exploitation of migrant workers working in Malaysian industries.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Western Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Western Australia (WA) confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 21 February 2020, and its first death on 1 March. On 15 March, premier Mark McGowan declared a state of emergency. On 24 March, Western Australia closed its borders to the rest of Australia, and on 1 April, the state implemented borders between regions in the state. By mid-April 2020, the state had eliminated community transmission of COVID-19, becoming one of the few places in the world to do so. There were only a handful of cases of community transmission in the state after mid-April, until late December 2021 when a tourist caused an outbreak that led to the cancelling of some New Year's Eve events, and the re-imposing of mask wearing rules in Perth and the Peel region.
Globally, sit-down traffic at restaurants that use OpenTable have dropped a whopping 83% from a year ago [...].