Russia and Ukraine accounted for a combined 3% of global spending on international tourism in 2020 and a minimum of $14bn in global tourism receipts could be lost if the conflict extends into the long-term, according to the World Tourism Organisation’s (UNWTO) latest report.
The UNWTO explained that the importance of both markets is significant for neighbouring countries, but also for European sun and sea destinations. It added that the Russian market also gained significant weight during the pandemic for long haul destinations such as the Maldives, Seychelles, or Sri Lanka.
As destinations, Russia and Ukraine accounted for 4% of all international arrivals in Europe but only 1% of Europe’s international tourism receipts in 2020.
The UNWTO mentioned that even though it is too early to assess the impact, air travel searches and bookings across various channels showed a slowdown the week after the invasion but started to rebound in early March.
Hisham Al-Demery — the former chairperson of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board — told Daily News Egypt that during the last period, Egypt was depending on Ukrainians and Russians since they made up between 45 to 55% of tourist arrivals to the country.
Agreeing with Al-Demery, Elhamy Al-Zayat — the former chairperson of the Egyptian Tourism Federation (ETF) — told Daily News Egypt that the conflict negatively impacted the number of tourist arrivals in Egypt, especially in Sharm El-Sheikh, which led to a decline in employment in the tourism sector.
Al-Zayat explained that the impact of the conflict is negative in terms of arrival numbers, however, it has not affected revenues too significantly.
He further explained that Ukrainian and Russian tourists mainly focus on beach tourism, and their average of spending is not high; so, their absence can be compensated for given that Egypt is now witnessing a revival in cultural tourism.
Al-Zayat went on to say beach tourists that visit the Red Sea and Sinai are for sure important to the country, however, cultural tourists are more important, as they use more domestic services like local transportation, visiting museums, and buying from local bazaars, so the average expenditure of a cultural tourist is higher than that of a beach tourist.
He also stressed that there is a strong indication that cultural tourism is coming back, stressing that demand for it is increasing, especially with the archaeological openings expected in 2022.
Additionally, the UNWTO said that the war in Ukraine poses new challenges to the global economic environment and risks hampering the return of confidence in global travel.
Al-Demery said that the conflict has led to an economic recession, making global citizens put travel plans on the back burner.
Based on the latest available UNWTO data, global international tourist arrivals more than doubled (+130%) in January 2022 compared to 2021 — the 18m more visitors recorded worldwide in the first month of this year equals the total increase for the entirety of 2021.
“While these figures confirm the positive trend that has been underway since last year, the pace of recovery in January was impacted by the emergence of the Omicron variant and the re-introduction of travel restrictions in several destinations. Following the 71% decline of 2021, international arrivals in January 2022 remained 67% below pre-pandemic levels,” according to the UNWTO.
The UNWTO mentioned that the Middle East (+89%) and Africa (+51%) also saw growth in January 2022 over 2021, but these regions saw a drop of 63% and 69% respectively compared to 2019.
It concluded that after the unprecedented drop of 2020 and 2021, international tourism is expected to continue its gradual recovery in 2022.
Concerning Egypt, Al-Demery said that Egypt also witnessed a good tourism season with high numbers in January and February compared to 2021.
He also expects that tourism rates in Egypt will begin to pick up in May, when Arab tourists come to Egypt.
