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With the end of 2021 slowly approaching, it is time to reflect and look into future. The UNWTO released the international tourism statistica data in October 2020 for the first eight months of 2020, the figures are bleak as one would imagine. 

  • International tourist arrivals (overnight visitors) declined 70% in the first eight months of 2020 over the same period of last year, amid global travel restrictions including many borders fully closed, to contain the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
  • International arrivals plunged 81% in July and 79% in August, traditionally the two busiest months of the year and the peak of the Northern Hemisphere summer season.
  • Despite such large declines, this represents a relative improvement over the 90% or greater decreases of the previous months, as some destinations started to reopen to international tourism, mostly in the European Union.
  • The decline in January-August 2020 represents 700 million fewer international tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2019, and translates into a loss of US$ 730 billion in export revenues from international tourism, more than 8 times the loss in 2009 under the impact of the global economic crisis.
  • Asia and the Pacific, the first region to suffer the impact of the pandemic, saw a 79% decrease in arrivals in January-August 2020. Africa and the Middle East both recorded a 69% drop this eight- month period, while Europe saw a 68% decline and the Americas 65%.
  • Data on international tourism expenditure continues to reflect very weak demand for outbound travel, though in several large markets such as the United States, Germany and Italy there is a small uptick in spending in the months of July and August.
  • Based on latest trends, a 75% decrease in international arrivals is estimated for the month of September and a drop of close to 70% for the whole of 2020.
  • While demand for international travel remains subdued, domestic tourism is strengthening recovery in several large markets such as China and Russia.
  • The UNWTO Confidence Index continues at record lows. Most UNWTO Panel Experts expect a rebound in international tourism by the third quarter of 2021 and a return to pre-pandemic 2019 levels not before 2023.
  • Experts consider travel restrictions as the main barrier weighing on the recovery of international tourism, along with slow virus containment and low consumer confidence www.unwto.org/market-intelligence

The question one might ponder over is what will 2021 look like? We think the following trends will be dominant in 2021: 

  • Spending more time in nature. Being locked in our houses and flats for nearly a year, there will be more interest for open spaces, green areas and nature. So we expect the guests to incorporate visits of the national parks, activties such as cycling, hiking, walking to their time onboard. 
  • Instagraming. Instagram is currently the most popular social media tool and we expect more our clients wanting to share their happy moments with the world.
  • Multigenerational travel. Many of us did not have a lot of opportunities to spend with our loved ones so we expect the extended families getting together and making up for the lost time. The yachts offer a perfect opportunity for doing so. 
  • Long haul travel or closer home. We expect that our USA clients will return to Croatia in 2021 providing the vaccine is in place and the travel restrictions are lifted, we also expect more road travel traffic. Croatia is only a few hours driving from some of the major Europe capitals such as Vienna, Zurich, Munich, Warsaw, Prague and more. 
  • Flexible terms and conditions. We think the travel / yachting industry would drop an old system of keeping the clienst money no matter what and offer full refunds if the travel restrictions prevent travelling. The whole indusrty must work very hard to restore confidence and trust and only those who offer flexible terms and conditions will get bookings. 
  • Safety and security. Companies will be also judged on their abilities to deal with any situation. For example, if a guest falls ill on the boat, how quickly the company can arrange a visit to a hospital, deal with the paperwork, or arrange a return flight home. No doubt travel insurance companies that offer COV-19 cover such as ABTA will also play a huge role in ensuring the clients can travel in confidence knowing no matter what happens they will be looked after.