The number of international tourists worldwide decreased by 70% in 2020 from 1,46 billion tourists in 2019 to 438 million tourists in 2020. Total revenue loss in the tourism industry is thought to be around $2 trillion.
World Tourism Organization revealed 3 possible scenarios for the period from 2021 – 2024.
The first scenario is that the global vaccination becomes widespread and flight and other social restrictions decrease by the second half of 2021. According to this view, the number of tourists which dropped to 438 million in 2020 increases to 910 million by the end of 2021 and to 1,45 billion by the end of 2022.
The second scenario forecasts that the vaccination efforts spread in a longer term and barely succeed, which means that the restrictions would be getting lifted by the beginning of 2022. In this scenario, the number of international tourists reach 610 million by the end of 2021 and to 1 billion by the end of 2022.
Turkey’s tourism industry shrunk significantly in 2020 due to the restrictions and lockdowns in the country and around the world. The number of tourists coming to Turkey decreased by 71%, from 51,7 million in 2019 to 15 million in 2020.
Tourism revenues decreased by 68%, dropping from $34,5 billion in 2019 to $11 billion in 2020. Total loss in revenue in 2020 is expected to be $30 billion.