2021 May Be the Worst Year on Record for Global Tourism

Although 2020 was dictated the “worst year on record” in the history of global tourism by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), their latest data is quickly showing that 2021 may actually underperform 2020 and top the chart after all. This is evidently a rippled effect of the alarming emergence of COVID-19 variants, especially the Delta variant that has led to reimposition of restrictive measures by several nations. The only way to minimize the losses now would be to kickstart tourism as soon as possible. This can only be achieved by accelerating the pace of ongoing vaccination programmes worldwide.