MADRID, Reuters – Last year’s world tourism industry performance was barely better than 2020. All indicators remained at pre-pandemic levels, and professionals in the industry are not anticipating a complete recovery until 2024. This is according to Tuesday’s statement by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Tourism suffered huge losses in 2020 due to travel restrictions and lockdowns aimed at reducing the spread COVID-19. This caused people all over the globe to limit their activities and lost their livelihoods.

According to UNWTO, a combination of rising vaccination rates, and relaxations of travel restrictions, there was a modest rebound in the second quarter of 2021. But, Omicron’s spread in December created a new dip in industry optimism and travel bookings.

According to the report, “The rate of recovery in different regions around the globe is still slow due to differences in mobility restrictions, vaccination rates, traveller confidence”

The largest increases in tourism arrivals to the Caribbean, Central America, and Southern Mediterranean Europe were seen in 2020. However, these numbers are still 54%, 56%, and 37% lower than the 2019.

In 2021 the Middle East and Asia Pacific saw a decline of 79% and 94%, respectively. This was due to many places being closed to tourists.

The report stated that global tourism’s gross product rose 19% between 2020 and $1.9 trillion in 2021, as tourists spent more time in the country and stayed there longer than they did in 2020. However, the industry still has only half of its revenue from 2019.

The UNWTO polled 64% of professionals in tourism in December. This is a significant increase from the 45% who were polled in September when Omicron had already ruined prospects for travel revival.

According to the report, “The Omicron variant and recent COVID-19 case increase are expected to disturb recovery and reduce confidence until early 2022 when some countries reinstate travel restrictions in certain markets.”