Covid-19 impact: International tourism may decline by 60-80% in 2020

This places millions of livelihoods at risk and threatens to roll back progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals

International tourism could shrink by a whopping 60-80 per cent in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in the revenue loss of $910 billion to $1.2 trillion and placing millions of livelihoods at risk, according to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The pandemic, spread across every country on the planet, has so far infected 4.1 million people and killed 282,719 people. The US has been the worst-affected country with 1.3 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 80,000 deaths.

According to the UN's specialised agency, the pandemic has already caused a 22 per cent fall in international tourist arrivals during