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From a high of ~ 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals in 2019, travel plummeted to almost nil as the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly and devastatingly brought the industry to a standstill. Prior to the pandemic, tourism had become one of the world’s major socio-economic sectors, with 2019 export revenues amounting to USD 1.7 trillion, equivalent to 28% of global trade in services and 7% of overall exports of goods and services.
Among the hardest-hit were tourism-dependent countries and emerging tourism destinations with fewer economic and technical resources to respond to the crisis: “In a sector that employs 1 in 10 people globally, harnessing innovation and digitalization, embracing local values, and creating decent jobs for all—especially for youth, women, and the most vulnerable groups in our societies—could be at the forefront of tourism’s recovery,” says SecretaryGeneral of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili. Source: UNWTO inbound tourism database, UNWTO press releases, Artefact library of tourism data use cases, desktop research of tourism data and digital initiatives.
Despite their growing appeal for tourists, few studies have analyzed the economics of tourism in emerging destinations during the early stages of their life cycle, with the literature focusing mostly on more established destinations. Emerging tourism destinations have significant potential; however, policymakers and managers in these destinations still need to make considerable efforts to transform cultural assets and attractions into attractive tourism products that can compete in global markets.
To enable emerging tourism destinations to make their mark on the global map, data-driven decisions on a multilateral basis must be made. There must be political will, clear destination positioning, “intelligent” strategy, and targeted investments in the sector to unlock the unique potential of these destinations. “The return of tourism will allow these communities to get back on their feet not through aid but through sharing their culture, their heritage and their hospitality with the world once more,” affirms Pololikashvili.
From a high of ~ 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals in 2019, travel plummeted to almost nil as the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly and devastatingly brought the industry to a standstill. Prior to the pandemic, tourism had become one of the world’s major socio-economic sectors, with 2019 export revenues amounting to USD 1.7 trillion, equivalent to 28% of global trade in services and 7% of overall exports of goods and services.
Among the hardest-hit were tourism-dependent countries and emerging tourism destinations with fewer economic and technical resources to respond to the crisis: “In a sector that employs 1 in 10 people globally, harnessing innovation and digitalization, embracing local values, and creating decent jobs for all—especially for youth, women, and the most vulnerable groups in our societies—could be at the forefront of tourism’s recovery,” says SecretaryGeneral of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili. Source: UNWTO inbound tourism database, UNWTO press releases, Artefact library of tourism data use cases, desktop research of tourism data and digital initiatives.
Despite their growing appeal for tourists, few studies have analyzed the economics of tourism in emerging destinations during the early stages of their life cycle, with the literature focusing mostly on more established destinations. Emerging tourism destinations have significant potential; however, policymakers and managers in these destinations still need to make considerable efforts to transform cultural assets and attractions into attractive tourism products that can compete in global markets.
To enable emerging tourism destinations to make their mark on the global map, data-driven decisions on a multilateral basis must be made. There must be political will, clear destination positioning, “intelligent” strategy, and targeted investments in the sector to unlock the unique potential of these destinations. “The return of tourism will allow these communities to get back on their feet not through aid but through sharing their culture, their heritage and their hospitality with the world once more,” affirms Pololikashvili.
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