The pandemic brought the international travel industry to an almost total standstill. Lockdowns imposed around the world resulted in a 49% decline in activity and a loss of close to $4.5 trillion (£3.7 trillion) compared with 2019.
While a recovery is under way, limitations, ambiguity and complexity as a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine – which is also driving higher airline costs – might still prevent some passengers from travelling abroad this year.
A priority for policy-makers should now be to restore travel connections, to protect an industry worth 11.3 million jobs. Prior to the pandemic, the sector contributed almost $9.2 trillion (£7.6 million) to the global economy.
The…