Work Together to Tackle the Outbreak of COVID-19 and to Embrace the Bright Future of World Tourism after the Epidemic 1

The COVID-19 inevitably exerts enormous influence on Chinese tourism.

Work Together to Tackle the Outbreak of COVID-19 and to Embrace the Bright Future of World Tourism after the Epidemic 1 Ms. Esencan Terzibasoglu Special Adviser to the Secretary General of World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) Published on March 9, 2020             Currently, COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease) is spreading around the world, and has turned out to be another public health emergency following SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in 2003 and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in 2015. Confronted with the greater influence of COVID-19 on Chinese and even global tourism industry, the tourist circle all over the world shall attach great significance to tackling the epidemic.   The Influence of COVID-19 on World Tourism           The COVID-19 inevitably exerts enormous influence on Chinese tourism. Based on the analytical study of China Tourism Academy, if the inflection point arises by the end of March or in the midmonth of April, the simulating calculation and professional assessment shows that, the number of domestic tourists in China will take on the negative growth of 56% in the first quarter of 2020 and 15% throughout the year; the number of domestic tourists will decrease by 932 million and the tourism income decreasing by RMB 1.18 trillion in this year; the number of tourists from foreign countries will decrease by 50.32 million and that of tourists to foreign countries decreasing by 27.63 million all through the year.           With respect to the world tourism, the COVID-19 also has a major impact. According to the survey of SNAI Accounting Information Investigation Center, accommodation and catering industry is exposed to the greatest influence amid the Coronavirus outbreak, and 70% of catering enterprises have suffered losses. Besides, there will inevitably be spillover effects on such industries as entertainment, transportation, wholesale and retail. It’s analyzed by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) that, upon outbreak of the epidemic, the number of flight reservation during the Chinese New Year has declined sharply. From February to March 2020, the passenger volume will decrease by 16.4 million, resulting in the potential income loss up to USD 4.1 billion.           By comparison, the influence of the COVID-19 on the tourism in Asia Pacific is more profound. Around the Chinese New Year, the number of Chinese tourists to Thailand, Japan, America, France and Australia decreases by more than 60%, resulting in the potential economic loss up to USD 24 billion. The tourism industry in Europe and America is also affected. Subject to the estimation of ETOA (European Tourism Association), about 170,000 Chinese tourists have cancelled their orders, and the economic losses arising therefrom exceed EUR 340 million. As predicted by Tourism Economics, in 2020, the number of Chinese tourists to America will decrease by 28%, and the air charges and domestic consumption to be decreased as anticipated by The Wall Street Journal amounts to USD 5.8 billion.           Tourism is a comprehensive industry with relatively stronger roughness. Although the epidemic this time brings huge and transient shock to the world tourism, on a global scale, the basic motivation, market demands and service system of world tourism still exist, and it’s impossible for the COVID-19 to change the positive long-term trend of the global tourism industry. In combination with the prevention and control experience of SARS in 2003, a lot of people had their travel plan delayed or put aside on the spread of epidemic, while the market demand never disappeared. After SARS was globally controlled in July of that year, the tourism industry embraced the full recovery soon. Now the precise resumption of work and production has been advanced in different regions of China based on their local health risks.   Principal Measures for the Rapid Rebound and Recovery of World Tourism after the Epidemic           As the fight against the epidemic in China enters a crucial stage, subject to the judgment of relevant experts, China is confident in fundamentally controlling the epidemic prior to the end of April. With reference to the prevention and control experience of SARS in 2003, the tourism market will experience the psychological buffer period after the epidemic, and then the world tourism will see the retaliatory rebound. WTCF (World Tourism Cities Federation) will work with all other tourism organizations worldwide to set the scene for the full recovery of world tourism after the epidemic, accommodate to the influence of the epidemic on people’s consumption psychology, and make every endeavor to shorten the market cycle of wait-and-see and fluctuation. Currently, UNWTO (UN World Tourism Organization) and WHO (World Health Organization) have carried out close consultation to minimize the influence of epidemic prevention and control measures on transportation and trade, and ensure the travel activities’ compliance with the general guidance and suggestions of WHO.           Subsequently, WTCF will play the coordination function between tourism cities and travel agencies. Subject to the uniform requirements of WHO, WTCF is expected to fully consider epidemic prevention and control and tourism development, timely notify the global information on epidemic prevention and control, and launch the revitalization plan for the global tourism industry in good time, thus making sound preparations for the recovery of world tourism’s normal order. While playing the multilateral cooperation function of an international organization, WTCF calls on the governments and tourism cities of different countries to adopt more active fiscal policies and precise financial services, grant more assistance to the tourism industry and other related industries exposed to serious influence of the epidemic, and help tourism enterprises to tide over difficulty. Moreover, the governments and tourism cities of different countries are encouraged to take more open and inclusive measures for entry and exit control, to establish mutually convenient partnership, to respect diversified contractual reservation, to share losses jointly, to reinforce tourist propaganda, and to initiate the active and healthy consumption model, through which conditions for the rapid rebound of world tourism may be created.          1 Esencan Terzibasoglu, “Work Together to Tackle the Outbreak of COVID-19 and to Embrace the Bright Future of World Tourism after the Epidemic,” World Tourism Cities Federation, Accessed April 1, 2020, https://en.wtcf.org.cn/special/2020/0309/5169.html