Posted
Restrictions, closed borders and canceled trips: the impact of the health crisis is colossal on tourism. Globally, the sector expects 1,800 billion euros in losses in 2021, or as much as the previous year. After an improvement, the Omicron variant comes again to disturb the party.
Faced with the Omicron variant, several countries barricaded themselves. In a travel agency, cancellations increased by 20%, Monday November 29. Since the weekend, Morocco and Israel have closed their borders, as have the Philippines, Japan and Australia. The United Kingdom, Portugal and Tunisia, for their part, have tightened their entry conditions.
If the cancellations are linked, reservations are less numerous. In recent days, research on Morocco has dropped by 60%, and of 15% on the West Indies, facing a social crisis. “We have had a start since September which was rather very good, since we were up 20 or 30% compared to 2019, (…) today, we have a brake”, worries Aurélien Aufort, deputy director of the tour operator Voyamar. Global tourism players expect a loss of € 1.8 trillion for the year.