Tourism will pick up, says WTO
World tourism hit rock bottom in March, but according to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), things should improve for the second half of the year.
According to WTO, tourism was at it lowest point around the world in March, due to the combined impact of the Iraq conflict, the SARS outbreak and the continuing slump in the world economy.
However, the WTO says it’s tourism experts around the world are predicting an improvement for the second half of the year. In a statement the WTO said: “Prospects for Europe show a notable improvement, although the biggest jump is found in the Middle East. Africa and the Americas were already upbeat about the past four months and maintain or even slightly improve their expectations for the coming four months.”
It said the outlook for Asia was dependent on the development of the SARS epidemic, but noted that the recent decisions by the WHO to revoke its travel advice for Hong Kong and Beijing was a good sign.
There was still a cautionary “but” from the WTO in presenting its outlook. Secretary-general, Mr Frangialli, said the forecasts for tourism were dependent on a number of factors, including a gradual improvement of economic conditions and the waning of SARS.
The WTO also mentioned that for the moment European travellers would continue to have a “wait-and-see” attitude, characterised by late booking and price sensitivity.
The figures have been released by the WTO as part of a new intiative to monitor world tourism. The WTO World Tourism Barometer includes a summary of opinions of 100 tourism experts from around the world, and will be published three times a year in January, June and October.
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