COVID-19 Related Tourism Industry Losses in 2020 Topped $750 billion

New research suggests the top 50 countries supporting the global tourism industry have lost an estimated $753.6 billion due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Overall, the numbers are “likely to be far higher.”

According to hotel room offer platform Hoo, international tourism receipts fell to $548.9 billion in 2020, a drop of 57.9 percent from the $1,302.5 billion recorded the previous year. In total, data shows the industry lost $753.6 billion in tourism revenue last year.

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In the United States, the combination of widespread COVID-19 cases and political unrest resulted in the largest decline in international tourism revenue, dropping from $125 billion in 2019 to just $89.1 billion in 2020.

“We’re now starting to get an idea as to the extent of the pandemic’s impact on global tourism over the last year and it’s quite staggering, to say the least,” Hoo Co-founder Adrian Murdock said. “It’s fair to say that the industry has been decimated due to COVID-19, with widespread travel restrictions causing drastic declines in tourism revenue pretty much across the board.”

“Unfortunately, as we stand it looks as though things will be getting worse before they get better, with 2021 yet to see a return to normality and bringing even tighter restrictions, if anything,” Murdock continued. “There’s no doubt that once these restrictions do lift, there will be an almost insatiable appetite for travel and this will bring an immediate boost to the industry. The question is, how much longer will businesses need to hold on to see those better days?”

To compile the data, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) provided information from the top 50 tourism destinations, including pre-coronavirus levels, the estimated decline as a result of the pandemic and financial data for the industry.