Chapter 15: Impacts on Travel and Tourism Available to Purchase

The long-term trend of sustained growth of tourism travel and activities, that has characterised the last decades, was forced to an abrupt halt at the beginning of 2020. This was due to the regulations that restricted mobility and tourism activities in many countries as a response to the hazard to health caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the various possible scenarios proposed by the UNWTO and by other international organisations, the worst one characterised the decline of travel and tourism in 2020, with the exception of a short-lived increase in the summer months, mainly due to domestic tourism. This sector was the hardest hit by this pandemic emergency, requiring a response both by policy makers and by private organisations.

The present chapter provides a survey of the effects of the COVID-19 on the tourism market in the various world regions, pinpointing the similarities and heterogeneities among them. Moreover, it summarises the policy responses and the private schemes that have aimed at tackling this emergency. The analysis will consider both the initiatives related to travel and tourism demand and those addressed to the supply side of the market, assessing their likely long-term outcomes. Finally, it will discuss the future of tourism travel and the potential impact of COVID on that future.