The tourism industry was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic and is still struggling heavily with the effects of the crisis. However, in some regions of the world tourism recovery is in full swing, with better days ahead.
The recovery of the tourism industry was tracked by the research platform Skift in an index based on a points system. And this index clearly shows that some countries are on their way back to pre-pandemic levels, while others have already reached these volumes.
Indicators Analyzed
The Skift Recovery Index is based on several indicators. These are the demand for hotel reservations, for air travel and car rental, hotel room profitability and flight and hotel occupancy rates.
On the basis of the relevant data, a country can receive a maximum of 100 points, which shows the contrast between the current data and those from 2019. It must be noted that the global index stands at 60 points.
Russia Recovered at Fastest Pace Worldwide
According to the index, Russia recovered at the fastest pace worldwide during the month of August. The reason for this is the active opening of borders, minimal restrictions, and the development of domestic tourism.
From July to August, the Russian score rose from 73.4 to 85.1 points. In particular, this was enhanced by the resumption of flights to Egyptian resorts and the approval of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine for travel to Thailand.
But another factor is, as mentioned, the growth of the domestic tourism market. From January to July this year, 48.5 million people were transported on domestic flights. Quite remarkably, this is 18 % more than in the pre-crisis year of 2019.
Mexico and Brazil on the Top
In addition to Russia, tourism recovery is in full swing also in other countries, like South Africa (from 40 to 48 points), India (from 50 to 59) or Spain (from 63 to 74), but only two countries are ahead of the Russian Federation in absolute numbers.
These are Mexico (in August it scored 100.9 points) and Brazil (88.9 points). In contrast to Russia, however, these countries have no or minimal restrictions, with tourists not being obliged to present vaccination certificates.
In this context, it is quite ironical that Brazil has the second-highest death rate from Covid-19 in the world, while the incidence of the virus is on the rise in Mexico.
Besides Mexico, Russia and Brazil, other countries performing relatively well in terms of absolute numbers include the United States (80), Turkey (78), but also European destinations like France (73) and Italy (70).