UNWTO conducted a global survey among its UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism and the expected time of recovery. The survey was conducted during the first week of October 2020 and those are the results:

When do you expect a rebound in international tourism in your country?

A majority of experts sees a rebound in international tourism in 2021, in particular by the third quarter 2021, while around 20% expects it to occur only in 2022.

What are the main factors weighing on the recovery of international tourism?

Experts consider travel restrictions as the main barrier weighing on the recovery of international tourism, along with slow virus containment and low consumer confidence.

When do you expect international tourism to return to pre-pandemic 2019 levels in your country?

Most experts do not see a return to pre-pandemic 2019 levels happening before 2023.

Is domestic tourism driving the recovery in your destination?

Domestic tourism is driving the recovery of several destinations but in most cases only partially, as it is not compensating for the drop in international demand.  Respondents from Asia and the Pacific were the most positive regarding the contribution of domestic tourism to the recovery of destinations.

UNWTO Confidence Index and survey:

UNWTO conducts a Panel of Tourism Experts’ survey to track global tourism performance and business sentiment every four months. In the most recent survey, additional questions were made to the UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism and the expected time of recovery. The survey was conducted during the first week of October 2020 and follows a prior survey conducted in July.

To discover more interactive data on the recovery of tourism, visit the UNWTO Recovery Tracker