2020 was a horror year for tourism

Hardly any other area of ​​life has been so infected by the coronavirus as tourism: worldwide, the number of international, cross-border travelers fell by 74 percent in 2020.

According to the World Tourism Organization UNWTO, almost 1.5 billion foreign tourists were counted worldwide in 2019, it was 1.1 billion fewer in the pandemic year.

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Around the globe, more than a hundred million people lost their livelihood, regardless of whether they were chambermaids, tour guides or tour operators.

In Germany, according to the tourism analysis of the Foundation for Future Issues, the development was also dramatic: Only 37 percent actually undertook a trip of more than five days in 2020, compared to 61 percent in 2019.

Of those who traveled, 55.5 percent stayed in the country, as many as last in the 1970s.

With statistically interesting consequences: more Germans vacationed in Brandenburg than in all of Croatia, and just as many traveled to Hamburg as in all of France.

Worldwide travel warnings due to Corona

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On January 1, 2020, the world still looked okay: The coronavirus was already up to mischief, but the Foreign Office (AA) had not yet issued a travel warning about Covid-19.

From March 17, 2020, the German Foreign Ministry warned against tourist trips to all 198 countries and territories - such a blanket travel warning for the entire planet had never been issued before.

On June 15, 2020, the general warning for the EU, Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Schengen countries was lifted, for the rest of the world on October 1, 2020. Since then, the AA has been publishing country-specific travel advice again.

We are currently warning against traveling to 163 countries due to Corona (as of March 5, 2021).

Source: WORLD infographic

But that doesn't mean that you can travel to the remaining 35 countries without any problems, because 25 have closed their borders for Germans.

Only ten countries without a travel warning (marked turquoise blue in the graphic) currently allow tourists from Germany to enter - and only under strict conditions.

Europe lacks half a billion tourists

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While Europe still had 746 million international visitors from abroad in 2019, the number slipped to 221 million in 2020 according to the UNWTO - a decrease of 71 percent, that was a whopping 525 million fewer tourists.

In terms of visitor numbers, no continent fell more dramatically in the Corona year 2020.

The world region Asia & Pacific recorded a higher percentage decline (minus 84 percent), but in absolute terms the tourist decline there was “only” 303 million.

The largest percentage decline in Europe suffered from Montenegro, Cyprus, Romania, Russia and France, here the minus was over 80 percent in each case, reports the European Travel Commission.

Things didn't look much better in the countries of Spain, Greece, Portugal and Turkey, which are heavily dependent on tourism - around three quarters of foreign holidaymakers were missing here in 2020 compared to the previous year.

Statistically, Austria came out on top, but with a minus of 52.7 percent, a good half of the international visitors stayed away here too.

Source: WORLD infographic

No wonder that Europe's hotel beds also stayed cold: According to an analysis by the data analyst STR, they were only 33 percent occupied in 2020, a catastrophic decline of 54.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Benefits for vaccinated vacationers

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According to the tourism portal fvw.de, there are currently twelve countries worldwide that allow travelers with proven corona vaccination without quarantine or intend to do so in the foreseeable future: Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Israel (announced), Lithuania, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania , San Marino and the Seychelles.

The small Balearic island of Espalmador is a popular destination for holidaymakers

Source: Getty Images / Anton Petrus

In the case of Spain and Portugal, however, it is only the Balearic Islands (planned from May 2021) and the island of Madeira.

How exactly the vaccination is to be proven and how long ago it has to be, varies from country to country.

In the meantime, the first travel companies have also announced special rights for vaccinated people.

From October 31, 2021, the organizer Alltours only wants guests with a Covid-19 vaccination to check in at its Allsun hotels.

And the shipping companies Saga, Victory Cruise Line and American Queen Steamboat Company only take vaccinated passengers with them when they set sail again.

Where is the journey going in 2021?

The wanderlust is unbroken, as has been proven by several surveys: 51 percent of Germans say they want to vacation, reports the Research Association Vacation and Travel.

And 44 percent even express their firm intention to take one or more vacation trips of at least five days in 2021, the Foundation for Future Issues has determined.

At 33.9 percent, most of them are drawn to their own country (in the previous year it was only 24.8 percent).

32.2 percent want to travel within Europe this year, most important destinations: Spain, Italy and the Nordic countries.

Source: WORLD infographic

After all, 12.2 percent of Germans are planning a long-haul trip (previous year: 17.9 percent), with the USA, South Africa and Canada at the top of the dream destinations overseas, according to the travel start-up Tourlane.

If you look at the online search for top summer flight destinations on the Skyscanner tourism portal, Istanbul, Palma and Crete are in the lead in Europe, while Cancun, New York, Bali and Bangkok are most popular overseas.

China wants to remain the travel world champion

While tourism is on the decline in the rest of the world, things are different in China.

According to the China Tourism Academy, 90 percent of the hotels there are open, and almost as many domestic flights were completed in 2020 as in 2019, namely 93 percent.

This is due to the Corona numbers in the Middle Kingdom, which have been low for months.

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The good numbers are due solely to domestic demand, because China has closed the borders for foreign tourists.

Last year, 3.4 billion domestic trips were counted, and 4.1 billion are expected for 2021, reports the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute.

The Chinese are also increasingly drawn abroad: in 2020, 18 million were traveling across the borders (most of them in January 2020 and to Macau).

The institute predicts 100 million trips for 2021.

So China is doing everything it can to remain the travel world champion.

"Only 27 percent of the booking volume for summer"

For the travel industry, the Easter business is now on the brink.

Norbert Fiebig, President of the German Travel Association in Berlin and Thomas Heilmann, Director of the Imperial Baths in Usedom, take a stand.

Source: WORLD / Felicia Pochhammer

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