A report issued by the US Frost & Sullivan, which is specialized in studies and consulting, expected that the travel and tourism sector in the Gulf countries would incur losses of $60 billion due to the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the report, the hotel sector accumulated losses of up to $15 billion, pointing out that the growth of the tourism and travel sector in the Gulf region reached 10 percent over the past five years.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Trade and Development Organization (UNCTAD) expected that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic would cost tourism in the world more than four trillion dollars.
A report prepared by the organization in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (WTO) said that the sharp decline in the number of tourist arrivals around the world in 2020 led to an economic loss of $2.4 trillion, expecting the number to be similar this year depending on the pace of the Covid-19 vaccination.
The report said that the number of international tourist arrivals decreased by about one billion tourists, or 73 percent, last year, while the decline in the first quarter of 2021 was about 88 percent.
The report predicted that tourist arrivals would not return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023 or beyond, due to obstacles such as travel restrictions, slow virus containment, low traveler confidence and a poor economic environment.
According to data from the Gulf Statistical Center, the number of tourists to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries decreased by 71 percent over the past year, and the number of flights decreased by 65 percent, due to the closure of borders and airports and the imposition of travel restrictions.
