International Tourism Registers 250 Million International Arrivals in First Five Months of 2022

The same source reveals that for a period from January to May 2021, over 77 million arrivals were recorded, which means that the sector has recovered almost half or 46 per cent of the pre-pandemic levels of 2019, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

In this regard, the Secretary General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, has said that tourism recovery has increased the pace in many parts of the world, facing the challenges that stand in its way.

In addition, he advised being careful about the economic problems and geopolitical challenges that may affect this sector in the remaining part of 2022 and beyond.

“Europe welcomed more than four times as many international arrivals as in the first five months of 2021 (+350 per cent), boosted by strong intra-regional demand and the removal of all travel restrictions in many countries,” the statement issued by the UNWTO reads.

Europe also saw a particularly strong performance in April at +458 per cent, thus reflecting a busy Easter period. Meanwhile, in America, arrivals doubled by +112 per cent. However, the strong rebound is measured against weak results in 2021, while arrivals remain 36 per cent and 40 per cent below 2019 levels in the two regions, respectively.

Other regions that saw strong growth are also the Middle East, with +157 per cent, and Africa, with +156 percent remaining 54 per cent and 50 per cent below 2019 levels, respectively. Asia and the Pacific almost doubled arrivals with +94 per cent. However, the numbers were 90 per cent below 2019, as some borders remained closed to non-essential travel.

“Several have recovered between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of their pre-pandemic levels, led by the Caribbean and Central America, followed by Southern Mediterranean, Western and Northern Europe. It is noteworthy that some destinations surpassed 2019 levels, including US Virgin Islands, St. Maarten, the Republic of Moldova, Albania, Honduras and Puerto Rico,” the statement also reads.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has revealed that the overall reduction in international air capacity in 2022 will be limited to 20 per cent to 25 per cent of seats offered by airlines compared to 2019. Furthermore, based on industry benchmark firm STR data, global occupancy rates rose to 66 per cent in June 2022, up from 43 per cent in January.

In addition, the International Monetary Fund has indicated that there has been a global economic slowdown from 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.2 per cent in 2022 and then to 2.9 per cent in 2023.

Moreover, UNWTO forward-looking scenarios published in May 2022 show international arrivals reaching 55 per cent to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2022.

These scenarios broken down by region reveal that Europe and the Americas will record the best tourism results in 2022, while Asia and the Pacific are expected to lag due to more restrictive travel policies. As a result, international tourist arrivals in Europe could rise to 65 per cent or 80 per cent of 2019 levels in 2022, while in the Americas, they could reach 63 per cent to 76 per cent of those levels.

On the other hand, in Africa and the Middle East, arrivals could reach around 50 per cent to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, while in Asia and the Pacific, they will remain at 30 per cent of 2019 levels in the best-case scenario.