The new COVID-19 peaks maintain travel restrictions
One in five the boundaries of the destinations are still completely closed as new outbreaks of the COVID-19 virus affect the resumption of international tourism. According to the latest research, 98 percent of all destinations still have some form of travel restriction.
According to a UNWTO travel restriction report, the borders of 46 destinations (21% of all destinations in the world) are currently completely closed to tourists. Of these, the boundaries of 26 sites have been completely closed at least since the end of April 2020. In addition, 55 (25% of all destinations worldwide) borders are still partially closed to international tourism and 112 destinations (52% of all destinations) require international travelers to present a PCR or antigen test upon arrival.
The trend towards evidence-based approaches to constraints reflects the changing nature of the pandemic, which will also help restore confidence in travel and keep both tourists and tourism workers safe.
The study also shows how destinations open to vaccinated international travelers: 85 destinations (39% of all destinations worldwide) have eased restrictions on fully vaccinated international travelers, while 20 destinations (9% of all destinations worldwide) have made full COVID-19 Vaccination mandatory on arrival. However, only four sites have so far completely removed all COVID-19 restrictions (Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Mexico).
Secretary – General of the UNWTO Zurab Pololikashvili says: “The safe easing or removal of tourism restrictions is essential for the relaunch of tourism and the restoration of the social and economic benefits offered by the sector. The trend towards evidence-based approaches to restrictions reflects the changing nature of the pandemic, which will also help restore confidence in travel and keep both tourists and tourism workers safe.
As in previous editions of the UNWTO Travel Restrictions Report, this latest report shows that there are still regional differences in travel restrictions. Asia-Pacific remains the area with the most restrictions, with 65 percent of all sites completely closed. By comparison, Europe is the most open global region for international travelers (7% of borders completely closed), followed by Africa (9%), the Americas (10%) and the Middle East (15%).
The continuing challenges posed by the pandemic further underline the importance of national authorities ensuring that migration procedures and requirements are provided in a timely, reliable and consistent manner across all information systems and platforms in order to maintain trust and further facilitate international mobility.
Source: World Tourism Organization