Global Search
COVID-19 has placed the whole world on lockdown, with new research from the World Tourism Organization showing that 100% of global destinations continue to have restrictions on travel in place, and 72% have completely closed their borders to international tourism.
First of all, I hope all of you are doing well during these hard
times. The COVID-19 pandemic is above all a health crisis that
requires decisive and consistent actions to flatten the curve
and stop the spread of the virus. However, it also has significant
socio-economic implications not only for the tourism sector as
a whole, but also for friends and colleagues whose livelihood
and wellbeing depend on tourism, who are experiencing very
challenging times.
The top solutions for accelerating the recovery of tourism have been celebrated in the ‘Healing Solutions for Tourism’ Challenge. Launched by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and with the aim of identifying start-ups with ready-to-implement ideas for mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on the sector, the initiative attracted more than 1,000 applicants from 100 countries.