This trend could shape the future of international travel, which will take longer than expected to recover.
According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), the number of international tourists dropped by 83% in the first quarter of 2021 due to widespread travel restrictions.
According to the organization, with a 73% drop in arrivals, 2020 was recognized as “the worst year in the history of the industry.”
Unable to travel abroad, tourists stayed in their countries of residence, often encouraged by governments seeking to support local economic recovery.
According to the expert on socio-cultural trends Cecile Poinan, in China, “the younger generation has long appropriated Chinese culture, and there is a government willingness to repatriate money” from tourism.
With the pandemic, the Chinese have traveled across a “vast territory,” “between Tibet, Hainan, Xishuan, there are many interesting places to visit,” and “travel agencies are developing in that direction,” according to Xishuan.
To stimulate domestic tourism, the Chinese government has authorized, for example, duty-free shopping in the island province of Hainan, an initiative that is popular with young people with more resources.
In a study earlier this year that showed the domestic market will be the engine of recovery, McKinsey Consulting highlighted “China’s growth”, which has already regained “80% of its tourism activity,” highlighting “finding destinations in nature” among the richest young customers. …
“lasting phenomenon”
According to the World Trade and Tourism Council (WTTC), which brings together major travel operators, in the United States in 2020, local tourists generated 95% of tourism revenues, up 10 points from 2019.
In Europe, authorities are also encouraging local travel, such as to France, where the government talks about “summer blue, white and red,” or Luxembourg, where shopping coupons are handed out. The journey will also be intra-European.
“The real movement that we have seen and that we will see again this summer is the sum of domestic tourism. This is a long-term phenomenon, ”said Sebastian Manco, tourism specialist Roland Berger, in an interview with AFP.
In general, according to the WTO, 60% of experts expect the growth of international tourism in 2022. Half of them estimate that it will not return to 2019 levels until 2024.
“This crisis has greatly favored domestic tourism,” confirms AFP Didier Arino, head of the consulting firm Protourisme. According to Arino, this is something “very good”.
“You cannot reduce the impact of tourism on the environment and not be happy with the development of local or domestic tourism. The arrival of foreign clients is responsible for 70% of the CO2 emissions from tourism, ”he adds.
“The creation of domestic markets for two years leaves traces, but positive ones,” insists Sebastian Manco, for whom “caring for the environment is becoming more and more important”.
According to a study by a consulting company, 58% of Europeans take environmental criteria into account when organizing their stay.
“The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the transformations taking place in the tourism sector: something that would have taken five years or more took only a few months,” added Manco.
