global tourism (pic pixabay)

by Frank Martin

The global world forecasts for 2023 published at the end of 2022 are, unsurprisingly, stark and ominous considering the year that has been lived through.

Old prophecies of a certain fortune teller, paradoxically already deceased, has predicted for 2023 all kinds of global disasters as humanitarian and environmental crises and challenges of survival in war.

But on global tourism industry, forecasts talk about a moderate recovery, a gradual progress, perhaps reflecting that the sector, despite winds and tides, has reacted well and with painstaking intelligence during this terrible “old” year.

Tourism future is observed by specialists with much more hope, although caution prevails.

One of the forecasts for the leisure travel sector is that next year the figures that collapsed due to the pandemic in 2020 will begin to equalize to the ones in 2019 from 2023.

There are reasons to believe this and other predictions based on technical and scientific systems. According to the study, in the next decade 126 million jobs will be created in the leisure industry.

This would mean that in the decade – which would be golden – tourism will be the creator of one in three jobs in the world for the next decade, far exceeding the growth rate of 2.7% forecast for the global economy.

It is real that global tourism industry is facing changing winds and tides but for the best. Initiatives have not stopped emerging, especially those that refer to the mobility of travelers and their willingness to travel at last.

Experts affirm that in this restoration technology prevails. The greater mobility of the traveler and the advancement of digital media mean that the real world is somehow mixed with the virtual as never before in history.

The organization of the world branch of technology already began a long time ago with new and sometimes incredible methods, applied  on ships, planes, trains, hotels and other places of accommodation.

There will be in the next decade a continuous increase in number of countries that encourage visits with incentives of various kinds, including prices and much better general organization of tourist’s attention.

A piece of news that emerged a few days before the start of 2023 not only gives hope, but also shows that the world wants a gradual and careful opening of tourism.

China, generator of millions of tourists in normal times, has announced two flights from Shanghai and Beijing, a method that seems to be based on very gradual measures as a test.

An announcement from a few hours ago indicates that China is already preparing to issue ordinary passports on January 8, coinciding with the lifting of the quarantine for those who enter the country.

News from Italy, Japan and Taiwan about the preparations to receive Chinese travelers announce careful controls about detections of Covid-19.

Everything seems to indicate that when the Chinese New Year arrives, which in 2023 will be on January 22 (January 21 to 27 are holidays) there will be a reactivation of universal tourism, both internal and outbound, but under the health regulations that ensure the future.