Travel and tourism have been one of the main industries to be gravely affected by COVID-19, leaving many countries with no choice but to close its borders to tourists for months due to the global pandemic outbreak. This has resulted in huge losses for almost all countries, especially those with high dependence on tourism revenue.
UNWTO said in its World Tourism Barometer update for July 2020 that international tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) saw a decrease of 56% in the first five months of 2020 over the same period of last year, according to data reported so far by destinations worldwide. International arrivals declined 98% in the month of May. This represents 300 million fewer international tourist arrivals in January-May 2020 compared to the same period in 2019, which translates into US$ 320 billion lost international tourism receipts (export revenues), more than three times what was lost in the whole of 2019 under the impact of the global economic crisis.
Similarly, VISA WAIVER processing firm, Official-esta.com has undertaken a review into which countries have suffered the biggest revenue loss, as well as highest percentage of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) lost in order to consider the affect that Covid-19 had on world tourism. In 2019, global travel and tourism had contributed $8.9 trillion to the world’s GDP, while it was already in pressure because of worldwide recession.
As per the review, USA is by far the worst affected country with at least $30 (€25.4) billion disappearing from the economy but number two in the chart is Spain with a still massive $9.74 (€8.23) billion loss although it is closely followed by France with Thailand in fourth place.
The countries with the biggest tourism revenue loss due to COVID-19:
| Rank | Country | Revenue Loss |
| 1 | United States | $30,709m |
| 2 | Spain | $9,741m |
| 3 | France | $8,767m |
| 4 | Thailand | $7,822m |
| 5 | Germany | $7,225m |
| 6 | Italy | $6,187m |
| 7 | United Kingdom | $5,816m |
| 8 | Australia | $5,674m |
| 9 | Japan | $5,428m |
| 10 | Hong Kong SAR, China | $5,020m |
Europe makes up half of the top 10 most financially impacted countries. Countries within Europe make up 50% of those which have suffered the biggest losses in tourism revenue, with Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the UK all ranking in the list of the top 10 worst affected. With a reported drop of 98% in international tourist arrivals in June, Spain is the European country with the largest revenue loss. France is the world’s most visited country with over 89 million tourists each year, but the impact of COVID-19 has resulted in a total revenue loss of $8,767m. This significant loss makes it the third country in the world with the most revenue loss caused by the global pandemic and the second in Europe.
As per UNWTO estimates, Asia and the Pacific, the first region to suffer the impact of the pandemic, saw a 60% decrease in arrivals in January-May 2020. Europe recorded the second strongest decline with 58% fewer arrivals, followed by the Middle East (-51%), the Americas and Africa (both -47%).
Smaller countries in the Caribbean, Indian and Pacific Oceans which have little industry and rely heavily on tourism have seen the most dramatic drop in GDP.
The Caribbean makes up half of the top 10 countries with the highest percentage of GDP loss. Last year, more than 31 million people visited the Caribbean, and more than half of them were tourists from the US. But with COVID-19 causing travel bans all over the world, the number of tourists that once accounted for 50-90% of the GDP for most of the Caribbean countries has significantly decreased.
The countries which have lost the highest % of GDP due to loss of tourism:
| Rank | Country | % of GDP loss |
| 1 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 9.2% |
| 2 | Aruba | 9.0% |
| 3 | Macao SAR, China | 8.8% |
| 4 | Antigua and Barbuda | 7.2% |
| 5 | Maldives | 6.9% |
| 6 | St. Lucia | 6.2% |
| 7 | Northern Mariana Islands | 5.9% |
| 8 | Grenada | 5.5% |
| 9 | Palau | 5.2% |
| 10 | Seychelles | 4.6% |
Jayne Forrester, Director of International Development at Official ESTA comments: “The last few months have undoubtedly been extremely difficult for the travel and tourism industry.
UNWTO says that tourism is showing signs of a gradual and cautious change in trend during the Northern Hemisphere summer peak months, as reflected in the gradual lifting of travel restrictions in several countries around the world. However, the fact is that the UNWTO Confidence Index has dropped to record lows, both for the evaluation of January-April 2020 and prospects for May-August. Most UNWTO Panel Experts expect international tourism to recover by the second half of 2021. Domestic tourism is expected to resume faster.
(To read the complete review by Official-esta.com you can click here)