Global tourism is set to rebound in 2010 after the economic crisis and the swine flu pandemic produced “one of the most difficult years” for the sector, the UN World Tourism Organization.
“2010 will be a transformational year” for world tourism, UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai told a news conference called to present the organization’s annual World Tourism Barometer.
The report said international tourist arrivals fell by an estimated 4.0 percent in 2009, to 880 million, but should recover to grow by 3.0 to 4.0 percent in 2010. It said growth in the sector returned in the last quarter of 2009 contributing to better than expected full-year results, led by the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.
“Still, 2009 is considered to be one of the most difficult years that tourism has seen” for a long time and “probably one of the toughest in the last two decades,” Rifai said. He said a slump due to the global economic crisis was “aggravated by the uncertainty around the A (H1N1) pandemic.” But he added: “The trend is bottoming out.”
“The results of recent months suggest that recovery is underway, and even somewhat earlier and at a stronger pace than initially expected,” said the head of the Madrid-based organization.
But he warned that “a premature withdrawal” of stimulus measures by governments and “the temptation to impose extra taxes may jeopardize the pace of rebound in tourism.”
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