Although pre-pandemic levels have not been captured in tourism in a global sense, the latest report of the UN World Tourism Organization drew attention to the recovery. These developments have also had a positive impact on travel retail.
When January February and January-April compared, some duty free companies have more than doubled the turnover. Turkey and Greece became the two countries that came to the fore in the purchases made by tourists.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), tourism worldwide is showing a strong recovery. In the first quarter of 2022, 3 times more trips to tourist destinations were made than in the same period of the previous year, the organization's latest report said. It was stated that Europe was the pioneer in the recovery of the sector.
It was stated international tourism increased by 182 percent between January March this year compared to the previous year; it was noted that in the first quarter of 2021, 41 million trips were made internationally, and in the first 3 months of 2022, this number reached an estimated 117 million.
144.5 PERCENT INCREASE IN TURNOVER
The impact of the recovery in tourism has also had a positive impact on travel retail.
It was indicated that the best performance was seen in Mediterranean countries including Greece and Turkey within Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) region in the first quarter of 2022. The fact that pandemic measures have eased since February has also contributed to accelerating the travel retail sector. This positive improvement has also continued in April and May.
February January January April, when we compare, Dufry's turnover has more than doubled,” he said. On the other hand, when the Dufry Group's turnover for the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of last year were compared, the increase was 144.5 percent.
THE RECOVERY WILL LAST
While the tourism sector which has not yet reached the level in 2019, is expected to continue its recovery throughout 2022 despite the fact the course of the global economy and the Russia-Ukraine war pose a downside risk. While international tourism revenues reached 602 billion dollars, Europe and the Middle East became the 2 leading regions in this sense. Some of the sector representatives argued that the return to the 2019 data could take place in 2023, while a similar proportion pointed out that the recovery could take place in 2024.
