Which Tourism Hotspots have been hurt most by Covid -19?

The Covid -19 pandemic’s devastation on the worldwide travel industry is difficult to measure, but it is safe to say the consequences have affected every single individual working in the business.

The team at airlines bargains website Next Vacay set out to investigate which of the world’s most popular tourism locations were most hit by the pandemic and how they were affected. It discovered a slew of enormous economic losses, millions of lost visits, and hundreds of thousands of employment losses.

Locals in certain vacation areas who rely on a steady steam of tourists to support their livelihood have begun scrawling messages in the sand, such as “S.O.S” and “Help”. It put to light the fact that, while the previous 18 months have been difficult for individuals who have been unable to holiday, actual misery is being felt in locations that are fighting to exist without viability.

Thailand earns the unfortunate #1 place on the list in terms of overall financial losses. With 83% decrease in visitor volume in 2020, the country lost $ 13.54 billion (a 21.9% decrease) in tourism earnings. Tourism contributes for around 21% of Thailand’s total domestic output (GDP).

Philippines too found itself in a difficult situation, last year the country economically lost $9.76 billion in revenue due to an 82% decline in tourist arrivals. Tourism contributed 25 % of country GDP prior to the pandemic. Malaysia too lost $9.08 billion as monthly visitor numbers decreased from 2.17 billion in 2019 to 2.17 billion in 2020.

Other badly affected places include Macau, The Caribbean island of Barbados, and Jamaica.