The devastation wrought upon the global travel industry by the COVID-19 pandemic is hard to completely quantify, but it's fair to say that the ramifications have touched every single person involved in the sector.
We all know that airlines, cruise lines, hotel companies, and hospitality corporations have taken massive hits and cut spending everywhere they could in order to stay afloat. But, what about entire nations that depend upon tourism to power their economies, keep their citizens employed and government programs funded?
The team at airfare deals site Next Vacay set out to discover which of the world's popular tourism destinations were hit hardest by the pandemic and precisely how they've been affected. What it found was a series of staggering economic losses, millions of visitors missed and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.
In some vacation hotspots, the locals that depend upon a regular influx of tourists to sustain their livelihoods have begun scrawling messages in the sand, like "S.O.S.", "Help" and "We Need You". It brings into focus the reality that, while the past 18 months have been a hardship on people who couldn't vacation, true suffering is being felt in the destinations that are struggling to survive without visitors.
Now that vaccinations have become widespread, travel restrictions are easing and more people have begun traveling again, it's worth remembering that some destinations are in more dire need of your tourism dollars than others.
In terms of overall financial losses, Thailand takes the unenviable top spot on the list. With an 83 percent decline in visitor volume during 2020, the country lost out on an estimated $13.54 billion (a 21.9-percent drop) in tourism dollars. Typically, tourism accounts for around 21 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP).
The Philippines found itself in a pretty poor situation, also. Faced with an 82 percent drop in visitor arrivals, the nation's economy missed out on $9.76 billion in income last year. In pre-pandemic times, tourism would have produced 25 percent of the country's GDP. Malaysia, too, lost $9.08 billion, as its monthly visitor counts fell from 2.17 billion in 2019 to 361,060 in 2020.
There are hotspots where tourism revenue plays an even bigger part in powering their country's economy. Macau is the destination with the highest portion of its GDP derived from tourism at 72 percent. It went from hosting 3.28 million visitors in 2019 to an average of 59,412 in 2020-an 85 percent drop.
The Caribbean island of Barbados, which lost around half of its monthly visitor volume in 2020, relies on tourism to produce more than 36 percent of its GDP. Jamaica takes third place, relying on tourism for nearly 35 percent of its annual GDP, with monthly visitor volumes that fell 69 percent in 2020 over the previous year.
Below are the countries that saw the biggest decrease in visitors during 2020.
| Country | Decrease in Visitors |
|---|
| Macau | 85 percent |
| Cyprus | 84 percent |
| Malaysia | 83 percent |
| Thailand | 83 percent |
| Philippines | 82 percent |
| Mauritius | 77 percent |
| New Zealand | 74 percent |
| Portugal | 74 percent |
| Sri Lanka | 73 percent |
| Greece | 72 percent |
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