UN urges governments to safely restart tourism to protect businesses and jobs

UN tourism body warned that 'short-sighted' actions could have devastating effects in the long run

Tourists walk at Palmanova Beach on the Island of Mallorca on July 27, 2020. The UN has said there's no time for "timid leadership" as the safe restart of tourism is possible. AFP.

Governments must implement solutions to safely reopen their tourism industries to protect businesses and the livelihoods of workers dependent on the sector, the United Nations said.

The UN World Tourism Organisation called for international co-ordination among countries on measures to re-start travel and revive the ailing tourism sector that has suffered billions of dollars in losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a statement on August 18.

"Short-sighted unilateral actions will have devastating consequences in the long run," Zurab Pololikashvili, secretary-general of the UNWTO said. "It will be the most vulnerable members of our societies who will be hit the hardest as those most shielded from the economic and social consequences of tourism’s standstill urge continued caution."

Tourism is among the sectors hardest hit by the global pandemic that has severely curtailed travel. As countries begin to gradually reopen their borders and ease restrictions to curb the virus, global industry bodies are calling for a harmonised approach to re-start travel.

While reopening borders is a "welcome relief" to millions of tourism-dependent workers and businesses, this step alone is insufficient and policy makers must also implement solutions to adapt to the new reality, the UNWTO said.

Rapid but rigorous testing at ports and airports as well as tracing and tracking apps can potentially drive the safe restart of tourism.

"These solutions need to be fully embraced, not just cautiously explored," Mr Pololikashvili said. "To delay will be a catastrophe and risk undoing all the progress we have made to establish tourism as a true pillar of sustainable and inclusive development."

In its latest Travel Restrictions Report published in July, the UNWTO showed that 115 destinations, or 53 per cent of the global total, continue to keep their borders completely closed for tourism.

The cost of coronavirus-related travel restrictions for the tourism industry has been massive.

By the end of May, the pandemic had led to $320 billion (Dh1.17 trillion) in lost tourism revenues, already three times the cost of the 2008 global economic crisis, according to the UN body.

Global air passenger traffic is unlikely to recover to pre-Covid-19 levels before 2024, a year later than previously expected, the International Air Transport Association said in its revised five-year forecast last month.