International tourism sees rebound in 2022: UNWTO

The international tourism sector has recovered almost half (46 per cent) of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.

International tourism saw a strong rebound in the first five months of 2022, with almost 250 million international arrivals recorded. This compares to 77 million arrivals from January to May 2021, the report said.

“The recovery of tourism has gathered pace in many parts of the world, weathering the challenges standing in its way,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. At the same time, he also advises caution in view of the “economic headwinds and geopolitical challenges which could impact the sector in the remainder of 2022 and beyond”.

The strong growth in the Middle East (+157pc) and Africa (+156pc) remained 54 per cent and 50 per cent below 2019 levels respectively, and Asia and the Pacific almost doubled arrivals (+94pc), though numbers were 90 per cent below 2019, as some borders remained closed to non-essential travel.

Here, the recent easing of restrictions can be seen in improved results for April and May.

In Africa and the Middle East arrivals could reach about 50 per cent to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while in Asia and the Pacific they would remain at 30 per cent of 2019 levels in the best-case scenario, due to stricter policies and restrictions.

Speaking to the Observer recently, a top official of Oman Air said the airline operations are expected to reach the pre-pandemic levels by 2023.

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the overall reduction in international air capacity in 2022 will be limited to 20 per cent to 25 per cent of seats offered by airlines as compared to 2019. Such resilience is also reflected in hotel occupancy rates.

Based on data from the industry benchmarking firm STR, global occupancy rates climbed to 66 per cent in June 2022, from 43 per cent in January.

However, stronger than expected demand has created significant operational and workforce challenges, while the war in Ukraine, rising inflation and interest rates, as well as fears of an economic slowdown continue to pose a risk to recovery.

The International Monetary Fund points to a global economic slowdown from 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.2 per cent in 2022 and then to 2.9 per cent in 2023. At the same time, UNWTO continues to work closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor the pandemic as well as emerging public health emergencies and their potential impact on travel.