The tourism sector is hard hit by the health crisis due to covid-19 and the preventive measures taken to combat its spread, such as the closure of air borders, the cancellation of reservations, the closure of places of entertainment and others. According to ONMT sources, “Bookers” increased from 31% between 1?? January 2020 and February 28, 2020 at −98% of 1?? April 2020 to April 13, 2020.
In a recent document, the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT) took a close look at the evolution of the situation in the world. It is a document which aims to “understand the coronavirus and take stock to measure its impact on the global economy and its implications on the tourism sector”, specifies the ONMT which emphasizes that worldwide, the tourism industry is almost at a standstill (−90% in terms of booking).
According to dhui.ma, based on Eurocontrol, the Office indicates that in terms of air capacity in February-March 2020, « Morocco recorded a drop of −96%, France −88%, Spain −87%, Germany −86%, the United Kingdom −82%, and Turkey −81%. As for the behavior observed in terms of purchases, a study conducted by the BCG firm in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Canada, Italy and France, revealed that « travel is the first expense that households want to reduce while the budget allocated to home equipment (sports), food, medicines and hygiene, should increase considerably. »
The World Tourism Organization, for its part, indicated that travel restrictions due to covid-19 around the world will result in “a 20 to 30% drop in international tourist arrivals in 2020 compared to 2019”. Regarding tourism revenue, the same source forecasts a drop of $300 to $450 billion, “equivalent to nearly a third of the $1,500 billion in revenue generated in 2019,” it is specified.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), for its part, took stock of the losses and spoke of “252 billion dollars this year in the air transport sector”. According to the OMT, it is necessary for the post-crisis to be prepared conscientiously. And to do this, it recommends « diversifying markets, products and services, investing in market analysis systems and digital transformation, strengthening tourism governance at all levels, preparing for crises, improving resilience and ensuring that tourism is included in the national emergency mechanism and systems, investing in human capital and talent development, firmly placing sustainable tourism among national priorities or even moving to the circular economy and taking ownership sustainable development goals. »
source: bladi.net
