Several countries are opening their borders for tourists, bringing up the ultimate question.
With international borders closed and lockdown measures put in place, nobody could take a vacation in any part of the world and this has hurt the travel & tourism industry more than you think. Firstly, we have to learn why tourism is important and what does it contribute to the global economy.
The Importance Of Tourism
As per data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), in 2019, travel and tourism formed 10.3% of the global economy’s GDP, which is $8.9 trillion. The industry created 330 million jobs in 2019 and 1 in 4 of all net new jobs were created by travel & tourism over the last five years.
The Countries That Are Most Dependent On Tourism
As per the list from Quartz, below are the top 5 countries that are most dependent on tourism
What About The Role Of Tourism In India’s Economy?
In India, tourism contributes 5.06% in India’s GDP (2016–17) and the sector employs 8.75 crore people, which is 12.75% of the total employed population in 2018–19. The industry consists of people from the hospitality industry, tour operators, travel agents, homestay owners, drivers, guides, small traders, artisans and craftsmen among a host of other service providers.
Countries Opening Their Borders For Tourism
Below are some of the major countries that have or will open its borders to support tourism.
- Denmark opened its borders from June 15 for tourists from Germany, Norway and Iceland.
- France opened its borders for travellers from EU member states as well as Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, and the Vatican from June 15.
- Germany will also be lifting border restrictions for travellers coming from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the UK from June 15.
- Italy opened its borders on June 3 to EU, UK, Schengen area, Andorra and Monaco citizens.
- Spain is looking to open its border to Schengen area countries, except Portugal on June 22.
- Switzerland will also be reopening borders to ll EU countries, the UK, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein on June 15.
- The borders of the United Kingdom have been open since June 8.
Why Is It Important To Allow Travel?
As per a forecast by WTTC, the travel & tourism industry will witness 197.5 million job losses and the GDP will plunge by $5,543 billion if the countries allow domestic travel and short-haul/regional from September and intercontinental travel from November.
But if domestic travel and short-haul/regional begin from June and intercontinental travel resume from August, the industry will see 98.2 million job losses and a $2,686 billion loss in GDP.
And we get it. The cases are rising and people are panicking, making us question whether promoting tourism during these difficult times is really a good idea. And that’s up for debate. But what we want to say is that we can’t ignore the importance of tourism and it should be supported. If people are not going to trave for a while, governments should step forward to help the industry by offering fiscal and liquidity incentives as well as measures to protect workers.
Head to moneyguru’s Insight section to stay updated on all major financial news updates of the day!
