UNWTO launches a tracker for the recovery of tourism sector

MADRID --The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced today the opening of a tracker for the recovery of this sector from the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As growing numbers of countries around the world ease restrictions on travel, the World Tourism Organisation, UNWTO, has launched a new Tourism Recovery Tracker to support global tourism. This represents the latest concrete action undertaken by the United Nations specialised agency as it leads the response of global tourism and guides recovery.

The most comprehensive tourism dashboard to date, the Tracker is the result of a partnership between international organisations and the private sector. Available for free, it covers key tourism performance indicators by month, regions and subregions allowing for a real time comparison of the sector recovery across the world and industries.

The UNWTO Tourism Recovery Tracker compiles all the relevant data in one place, giving governments and the private businesses the ability to track the recovery of tourism at global and regional level, alongside information on the top destinations for international tourism The tracker includes data on: international tourist arrivals, seat capacity in international and domestic air routes, air travel bookings, hotel searches and bookings, occupancy rates and demand for short term rentals.

According to UNWTO latest World Tourism Barometer, the massive drop in international travel demand over the period January-June 2020 translates into a loss of 440 million international arrivals and about US$ 460 billion in export revenues from international tourism. This is around five times the loss in international tourism receipts recorded in 2009 amid the global economic and financial crisis.

The Tracker was announced on the back of the 112th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council, which met in person and virtually in Tbilisi, Georgia, to work together to guide the sustainable and responsible recovery of tourism from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A recent report by the world tourism governing body pointed to the Asia-Pacific region as the most affected by the current situation with a 72 percent drop in visitors received in the first half of this year.

It was followed by Europe with a 66 percent decline, Africa and the Middle East (57) and the Americas (55).