A new study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) found that travel and tourism revenues in the Middle East could reach $246 billion this year, just 8.9% below pre-pandemic levels.
In 2019, before the pandemic hit and began to wreak havoc on economies around the world, the region’s travel and tourism sector was booming, bringing in $270 billion in revenue.
However, when international travel was almost completely halted by COVID-19 in 2021, its contribution fell by 51.1%, resulting in a brutal loss of more than $138 billion.
The latest WTTC research shows that as the region continues to recover from the pandemic and major markets reopen borders and ease travel restrictions, the sector’s contribution to employment could reach pre-pandemic levels this year.
What’s more, the study shows that if countries continue to ramp up vaccination programs this year and international travel restrictions are eased around the world, the sector will employ 6.8 million people by the end of 2022, just 40,000 fewer. than before the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the travel and tourism sector in the Middle East, but we now have reason for real optimism,” said WTTC President and CEO Julia Simpson.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, governments in the Middle East have shown a real commitment to travel and tourism. In particular, Saudi Arabia has shown strong leadership throughout the crisis and is investing heavily in the sector.”
“We are in for a strong recovery in 2022 if governments in the region continue to open their borders and lift travel restrictions, which will affect the economy, society and jobs,” she added.
According to the WTTC, to get as close as possible to this year’s pre-pandemic levels, governments around the world should continue to focus on vaccine distribution and ensure the free movement of fully vaccinated travelers.
The World Tourism Organization is also calling on governments in the Middle East and around the world to abandon patchwork restrictions and allow international travel using digital solutions that allow travelers to verify their status in a fast, simple and secure way.
As for Egypt, Saeed El-Batouti – a UNWTO economic adviser, a member of the UN Economic Commission for Europe and a board member of the German Tourism Association – told Daily News Egypt in February that a good reason for optimism is that Egypt is one of the first tourist areas where recovery has begun.
He said that the final figures for 2021 are not yet available, but he expects the number of tourists who visited Egypt during 2021 to be around 4.5 million tourists, and this number is expected to increase during 2022 to reach around 7 million tourists – provided that the coronavirus does not develop further – and if it does, Egypt will reach about $7.2 billion in tourism revenues.
