How COVID-19 Paralyzed The Flow of Global Tourism

How COVID-19 Paralyzed The Flow of Global Tourism

Published July 9th, 2020 - 06:30 GMT









As Dubai opens its doors to foreign tourists, this is as good a time as any to look at the importance of tourism for the global economy.

Since 1995, the tourism sector has more than tripled. That year, it contributed around $500 billion to the global economy. By 2019, the tourism sector had grown to $1.6 trillion.

Tourism is big business. For some economies, it is a major part of their GDP. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2019 tourism contributed 30 percent to Cambodia's GDP; 25 to that of Thailand; 20 percent to Greece; 15 percent to Austria; 12 percent to Spain; 11 percent to Tunisia; and 11.5 percent to Dubai. In 2018, Hajj and Umrah contributed $20 billion “” between 2 to 3 percent “” to the Saudi economy. Vision 2030 counts on tourism to diversify the economy away from the Kingdom's dependence on oil. The megacity of Neom is one example of a project that is working toward this end.

These are big numbers, especially as many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) such as restaurants, small hotels, small tourism operators or souvenir shops depend on the sector.