ME’s tourism trade could be $246 bn in 2022

A recent research shared by World Travel & Tourism Council reveals that the travel and tourism sector in the Middle East could reach up to US$246 billion this year, just 8.9 per cent behind pre-pandemic levels. As the region continues to recover, employment in the region could also reach beyond pre-pandemic levels by the year-end.

Shehara Rizly

Over the past few weeks, governments started easing of restrictions and opening borders, which could result positively for the travel and tourism industry. In the Middle East market, it not only ushers in profits in terms of the industry supporting non-oil based economy, but also provides employment, thus contributing to the region’s economy.

According to the latest research by WTTC, if countries continue to roll out the inoculation programme at the given pace this year, and restrictions to international travel are eased around the world, 6.8 million people could be employed in the sector by the end of 2022, just 40,000 behind the pre-pandemic level.

In 2019, before the pandemic struck and began to devastate economies around the world, the Travel & Tourism sector in the Middle East was booming, generating US$270 billion to the region’s economy. However, in 2020, when COVID-19 brought international travel to an almost complete standstill, its contribution more than halved, plummeting 51.1%, suffering a brutal loss of more than US$138 billion.

Julia Simpson, President & CEO, WTTC said: “COVID-19 caused significant losses to the Middle East’s Travel & Tourism sector, but we now have reason for real optimism. Since the start of the pandemic, governments across the Middle East have shown real commitment to travel and tourism. Saudi Arabia, in particular, has shown strong leadership throughout the crisis and is making a major investment in Travel & Tourism. 2022 is poised for a strong recovery if governments across the region continue to open up their borders and remove restrictions to travel, which will have a massive positive effect on both the economy, the society and jobs.”

There are many areas that still needs to be addressed in order to reach close to the pre-pandemic levels this year. It is the opinion of WTTC that governments around the world must continue focusing on the vaccine rollout and allow fully vaccinated travellers to move freely. The global tourism body also urges governments in the Middle East and around the world to ditch the patchwork of restrictions and enable international travel using digital solutions that allows travellers to prove their status in a fast, simple and secure way.