Gross value added to the EU's economies decreased by 184 billion euros, or 32%, in 2020 compared to 2019, that is compared to the period before the pandemic, bringing also a 1 percentage point decrease to the share of the tourism in the economy according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union. In 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic heavily hit the tourism sector, the gross value added directly generated by tourism amounted to an estimated pound 572 billion, or 5% of the total gross value added in the EU economy. The data for 2019 cover 21 of the member states of the EU, since data is not available for Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Malta and Poland. Among the countries for which data are available, the highest shares of tourism in total gross value added were observed in Croatia (11%), Portugal (8%), Spain (7%), Italy (6%) and Austria (5%). In absolute terms, the highest tourism direct gross value added was generated in Germany (124 billion euro), followed by Italy (100 billion euro) and France (87 billion euro). Furthermore, 2020 data for around half of the EU countries, show that total direct gross value added dropped by 184 billion euro (-32% compared with 2019) during the first year affected by the pandemic, causing a decrease in the share of the tourism sector in the economy (-1 percentage point; pp). This drop at the annual level corresponded to pound 500 million less daily direct gross value added in 2020 compared with 2019. Data for 2020 was provided by 14 countries, of which 13 are EU member states: Czechia, Denmark, Spain, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. The 13 EU countries represent around 54% of European tourism. The tourism sector's decline aligns with earlier national account estimates. In 2020, among the 64 industries in the economy, three of the four that experienced over 25% decrease in gross value added were tourism-related: travel services (-67% compared with 2019), air transport (-66%), and hospitality (-41%).
Source: Cyprus News Agency