Post-Covid Tourism Recovery accelerates in 2023

Tourism in Asia and the Pacific is recovering well according to the UN and the trend is moving quickly upward as most destinations, including China, have reopened.

The second UNWTO World Tourism Report shows Tourism swift recovery has continued into 2023. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

🔺Overall, international arrivals reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023

🔺An estimated 235 million tourists travelled internationally in the first three months, more than double the same period of 2022.

🔺Tourism has continued to show its resilience. Revised data for 2022 shows over 960 million tourists travelling internationally last year, meaning two-thirds (66%) of pre-pandemic numbers were recovered.

Recovery by Region in Q1 2023:

🔺The Middle East saw the strongest performance as the only region exceeding 2019 arrivals (+15%) and the first to recover pre-pandemic numbers in a full quarter.

🔺Europe reached 90% of pre-pandemic levels, driven by strong intra-regional demand.

🔺Africa reached 88% and the Americas about 85% of 2019 levels

🔺Asia and the Pacific accelerated its recovery with 54% of pre-pandemic levels, but this upward trend is set to accelerate now that most destinations, particularly China, have re-opened.

🔺 International tourism grew to $1 trillion mark in 2022, an increase of +50%  compared to 2021. Global visitor spending reached 64% of pre-pandemic levels.

🔺 According to the UNWTO Panel of Experts, the economic situation remains the main factor weighing on the effective recovery of international tourism in 2023, with high inflation and rising oil prices translating into higher transport and accommodations costs. As a result, tourists are expected to increasingly seek value for money and travel closer to home. Uncertainty derived from the Russian aggression against Ukraine and other mounting geopolitical tensions, also continue to represent downside risks.

🔺UNWTO see the following key challenges ahead: geopolitical insecurity; staffing shortages; potential impact of the cost-of-living crisis on tourism and responsible sustainable tourism that protects our climate.