Pandemic development in final weeks of 2021 a concern for global tourism: UNWTO

The way in which the Covid-19 pandemic has developed over the closing weeks of the year gives reason for concern and to once again put public health above everything else, United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) said.

Regardless of the situation, UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili asserted that the only way forward for the global tourism sector to revive is via collaboration and actions that are based on evidence rather than on speculation or political strategy.

“UNWTO is in a good place to use the achievements of 2021 as a springboard for building better tourism in the years to come, with the sector ready to return once conditions are right,” Pololikashvili said in a year-end statement to the media this week.

He pointed out that 2021 has been another challenging year for societies, economies and tourism sectors across the world where many millions of jobs and businesses remain in peril, at the mercy of an evolving crisis and of the actions of governments.

Despite the challenges ahead, the UNWTO head expressed confidence in the year 2022 bringing in better prospects for the hard hit industry.

“We are by no means in the same place we were when the pandemic was declared in March 2020. In fact, we have succeeded in laying the foundations to restart tourism around the pillars of sustainability, innovation, people and investing for a resilient future,” added Pololikashvili.