The COVID-19 crisis has brought travel and tourism worldwide to an unprecedented standstill. As countries introduced curfews and travel restrictions to contain the spread of the virus, airlines and other mobility providers saw dramatic drops in passengers, and hotels, the food and drink industry and tour operators were faced with plummeting customer numbers. Between January and May, the number of tourists dropped by more than half compared to 2019. This translates into a US$320 billion revenue loss – more than three times higher than during the Financial Crisis of 2008/2009. The global travel and tourism market is predicted to see a loss of more than 100 million jobs worldwide in 2020.
Moreover, in many parts of the world, the protection and sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity rely heavily on revenues generated by tourism. Lockdown measures and the absence of funding have already led to an increase in poaching and deforestation. At the same time, the tourism industry contributes to climate change and biodiversity loss. For instance, domestic and international travel to and from a holiday destination significantly adds to a vacation’s environmental footprint, as do resource uses (water, energy, food) and pollution in the form of waste, noise and light. Thus, putting global tourism back on its feet offers a unique opportunity to advance the sustainability and resilience of the sector.
This requires collaborative efforts across sectoral silos, as “green” policy measures for the tourism sector can only succeed if a holistic perspective is taken, considering tourism offers and infrastructure, transport, resource management, education/formation – and taking both urban and rural contexts into account. Standards and labels as well as fiscal and financial incentives for “green” tourism, complemented by efforts to raise awareness, are among the measures that governments should consider when drafting plans to boost their national tourism industries.
This brief looks at the efforts by governments, multilateral organisations, academia, civil society, and other actors at the national and international level to responsibly restart tourism and adapt to a new reality during and after the COVID-19 crisis. It compiles the latest “green” stimulus measures and propositions on what a sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery from the pandemic could look like.