Two years after the pandemic, economies around the world are still registering huge losses in the tourism sector. That is why the World Tourism Organization (WTO) is advocating a new strategy for the tourism sector that, according to the organization, may represent an opportunity to revive the sector.

The executive director of the WTO, Zoritsa Urosevic, quoted by the news agency, UN News, said that the revival of the global tourism industry needs international cooperation and new ideas.

At the global level, before the pandemic, tourism had a contribution of 7% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to United Nations data.

With the pandemic there were about 70% drops due to disruption of tourism around the world.

According to the director, there has been a transformation in many countries from diversification from international to domestic tourism.

The UN agency argues that this is a favorable time for harmonization in this regard and has defined policies to help improve the industry at the national level.

The WTO representative said that the agency is receptive to innovations and has improved connections with partners such as the media and networks of tourism ministries.

For people and communities dependent on the tourism sector, the suggestion is to enhance training.

OTM experts estimate that in the first seven months of last year, international tourism was down 80% from pre-pandemic levels.

According to OTM despite the relative improvement in the period compared to 2020, performance was well below 2019.

However, according to OTM, a possible recovery could occur in 2022. It would be driven by demand, primarily during the second and third quarter of the year.

The UN agency's experts note that "for 2023, the recovery should continue, but a return of arrivals to 2019 levels should occur in 2024 or even later."