Many sectors around the world were negatively impacted by Covid-19 in 2020, including tourism and travel. The travel and tourist industry appears to have been the earliest and most severely affected by Covid-19. The pandemic caused damage to the tourism industry in countries all over the world, including Nepal. The “Visit Nepal 2020” campaign, which sought to attract 2 million tourists to Nepal, was scrapped. Also, Nepal faced a huge loss in the tourism industry due to the pandemic. In 2020, the travel and tourism sector of different parts of the world, including Europe, America, the Asia Pacific, Africa, and the Middle East, was drastically affected. Many parts of the world are still recovering, while others have also started operating. The first destination to be open for international travel was Dubai.
The pandemic caused a massive loss, and it might take up to four years for everything to return to normal. During the pandemic, the loss of the tourism industry put more than 100 million jobs in danger all over the world. Vaccine development and distribution are assisting in the control of the virus, but restrictions on foreign travel and tourism are likely to stay until vaccination programs are generally available. Even today, policymakers and tourism practitioners are unaware of the crisis’s possibilities and repercussions, which will have a major influence on the industry.
The COVID-19 outbreak continues to cause havoc on the tourism industry. Prior to the pandemic, tourism accounted for moreover 10% of global GDP, a figure that was significantly greater in nations where tourism was a major source of revenue. Many coastal, regional, and rural places are faring better than cities in terms of international, commercial, and events tourism. Positive vaccine news has increased recovery prospects, but obstacles remain, and the sector is projected to be in survival mode until well into 2021.
Some governments have aided the sector financially, either directly or through low-interest loans and guarantees. Because social isolation and health and hygiene measures are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future, the availability of contactless services and investments in digital technology could provide a crucial bridge to recovery. Each country’s specific remedies will vary, and the speed and extent of recovery will inevitably be influenced by international trends. Beyond the immediate necessity of limiting the pandemic’s consequences, countries must establish a new tourism trend. Diversification, the gradual adoption of more sustainable tourist models, and investment in new technology could all contribute to the activity’s resurgence.
Some of the most important activities we can undertake to restore tourism to normalcy are re-establishing traveller trust, providing assistance to tourism enterprises, promoting local tourism and ensuring the safe return of foreign tourism, cooperation inside and between countries, and developing more resilient and sustainable tourism.
The crisis has provided an opportunity to reconsider tourism’s future. Tourism is at a decision point, and the policies put in place today will define tourism in the future. Governments must examine the crisis’ long-term consequences while leveraging digitalization, supporting the low-carbon transition, and encouraging the structural changes required to establish a stronger, more sustainable, and resilient tourism industry.
