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The impact of the novel coronavirus on the tourism sector continues. Regarding the travel crisis, which is expected to last at least one more year, the United Nations World Tourism Organization points out that the number of tourists will decrease by 30% worldwide in 2020.

*** This release is originally published in Turkish.
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ISTANBUL (TR) - The COVID-19 pandemic, which the whole world is struggling with, has affected the tourism sector most negatively on the global scale especially with travel bans. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) data, the number of tourists in the international arena reached 1 billion 460 million in 2019. By the end of 2020, the number of tourists is expected to decrease by 30% to 1 billion. According to the scenarios developed by the science and research centers around the world regarding the future of the tourism industry, the measures taken and the psychological effects caused by the pandemic will continue the international travel crisis for at least another year.

Deric Hotels Chairman Farzad Tavakkoli reminded that the number of global tourists experienced a 0.4% shrinkage in the 2003 SARS epidemic and a 4% shrinkage in the 2009 economic crisis, COVID-19 will be the biggest crisis of the global tourism industry in the last 20 years.

International tourism goes back 20 years, it is essential to turn to domestic tourism

Stating that considering the past crises, COVID-19 pandemic left long-lasting effects both economically and socially and pointed out that recovery in international tourism will take time and new steps must be taken to avoid further losses in this process, Deric Hotels Chairman Farzad Tavakkoli said, “The economic effects of the pandemic have reduced purchasing power worldwide, and the growing concern has made the social isolation process a safe haven for many segments. It is unfortunately possible to say that this course, which is expected to continue for at least another year, will reduce international tourism by 30%. At this point, in Turkey, where about 80% of tourism turnover is made up of foreign tourists, it is essential to turn to domestic tourism in accordance with health protocols and to minimize the damage caused by the pandemic. Eid al-Adha and the summer holidays of schools are important opportunities to take steps in the coming period.”

Security should be the priority in tourism

Farzad Tavakkoli, who stated that success in tourism is through making the visitors feel safe and that the concept of security is most associated with health in the pandemic process, touched on the steps to be followed in order to manage the current tourism crisis correctly. Tavakkoli said, “Whether tourism crises shrink the economy or employment, it is basically defined as a set of factors that threaten the safety of tourists. To perpetuate the state of staying safe depends on being able to act in a planned manner such as a pandemic. In this context, determining the tourism processes, organizing a failure breakdown for each transaction, identifying the error points for each of the identified activities, calculating the number of risk priorities for each failure point, matching the number of risk priorities with predetermined strategies, prioritizing the predicted risks, organizing corrective programs. and it is important to follow the steps to review the transaction process.”