24. Are we there yet? Travel bounces back but full recovery still awaits take-off

As people start thinking about taking off for the holidays, this episode of The Weekly Tradecast looks at tourism in a post-pandemic world with UNCTAD economist Claudia Roethlisberger.

In 2019 – the year before the Covid outbreak – the tourism industry was worth around $3.5 trillion. The United Nations says it lost about that much during the pandemic. 

Tourism provides work for one in 10 people around the world, so there’s an economic urgency to getting travellers back on the road and in the air. 

But after two years of Covid restrictions, many parts of the travel industry – especially airlines – were just not ready for the surge in demand.  And journeys may not be much smoother for the many millions of people travelling over the year-end holidays.

Will the travel industry return to its pre-pandemic heights, or will it be a turbulent ride ahead? Tune in to UNCTAD’S Claudia Roethlisberger to find out.