When will international tourism recover from COVID pandemic?

The aviation industry and international trips will fully recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic by 2024, chairman of the board of Hong Kong China Tourism Group, executive director of the Hong Kong Association of Chinese Enterprises, head of the tourism committee Lu Ruian told RIA Novosti, Report informs.

“The COVID spread is very well controlled in mainland China, but there are still many places in the world where the situation has not yet been taken under control. For example, in the US, in the UK. I think it will take at least two years for tourism industry to recover,” he said.

He stressed that air transportation, including foreign travel, won’t resume so quickly.

“I think that a full recovery will take place in 2024,” the expert said.

The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), due to the global industry losses associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, ranked 2020 as the worst period for world tourism on record. Last year, the number of international trips decreased by 74 percent. International tourism lost $1.3 trillion due to missed trips last year, according to UNWTO data. This figure was more than 11 times higher than the losses during the 2009 global economic crisis.