Restrictions On Travel Easing As Europe Leads Cautious Restart Of Tourism: UNWTO

Restrictions on travel, introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, are slowly being eased, allowing tourism to restart in a growing number of destinations, World Tourism Organisation, UNWTO, said.

The latest research by the United Nations specialised agency for tourism shows that 22 percent of all destinations worldwide (48 destinations) have started to ease restrictions, with Europe leading the way. At the same time, however, 65 percent of all destinations worldwide (141 destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed to international tourism.

UNWTO has been monitoring responses to the pandemic since the start of the current crisis. This latest update, the fifth edition of COVID-19 Related Travel Restrictions: A Global Review for Tourism, shows that the sector is slowly restarting, though this restart is significantly more pronounced in some global regions.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said, "The restart of tourism is of vital importance – for livelihoods, for businesses and for national economies. This latest overview of global travel restrictions shows that growing numbers of destinations are beginning to ease the restrictions they introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is being done in a responsible and measured way. However, this crisis is not over. UNWTO will continue to work with our Member States around the world to mitigate the impact of the pandemic and to ensure that, when the time is right, tourism can help drive a responsible and sustainable recovery."

According to UNWTO, as of 15th June, 22 percent of all destinations (48 destinations) have now eased restrictions on travel, up from just 3 percent (7 destinations) on 18th May. Destinations that have eased travel restrictions for tourists include: 37 destinations in Europe, including 24 of the 26 Schengen Member States; 6 destinations in the Americas, including 5 Small Island Developing States; 3 destinations in Asia and the Pacific, including 2 Small Island Developing States; 2 destinations in Africa.

At the same time, the report makes clear that many destinations are maintaining a cautious approach to lifting or easing restrictions on travel. As of 15th June, 24 percent of all destinations worldwide (51 destinations) have had travel restrictions now in place for 19 weeks and 37 percent (80 destinations) for 15 weeks.

In total, 65 percent of destinations worldwide (141 destinations) continue to have their borders completely closed. In Africa, the proportion of destinations where borders remain closed to tourists stands now at 85 percent. In the Americas, 76 percent of destinations maintain full border closures, as do 67 percent of destinations in Asia and the Pacific and 92 percent of destinations in the Middle East. In Europe, these full border closures are reduced now to 26 percent of all destinations.