Tourism is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Representing 10% of GDP and the same percentage of the total workforce of the EU, the health of the tourism industry has major repercussions for the whole economy. As Europe slowly emerges from lockdown, nations are gradually opening their borders, their restaurants and their beaches, fully aware that without tourists, a wider economic recovery is in jeopardy.
Tourism
Holidays in the coronavirus-era
Europe divided over banning Russian tourists
Ukraine is pressuring the EU to bar Russian tourists from entering the bloc but has met varying responses, with some EU countries agreeing while others resist.
Russian tourists to Finland greeted with Ukrainian anthem
A crowd including Russian tourists gathers in the Finnish town of Imatra as water rushes from a dam to the sound of music. But since the end of July, the show has begun with Ukraine's national anthem.
Lacking tourism workers, Croatia recruits abroad
Tourists are flocking back to Croatia after the pandemic decimated its vital travel industry, but the Adriatic nation has a problem: it lacks workers to cater to the legions of visitors
Omicron: Mild or severe impact on the global economy?
After limping its way back from the Covid pandemic last year, the global economic recovery has been rattled by the Omicron variant's rapid rise
European tourists boost sector, but can’t top Americans, Asians
European travellers helped plug a gap left by Asian and American tourists stranded at home by the pandemic, staving off a total washout this year for Europe's hospitality industry
France tells citizens to avoid Spain, Portugal over Delta variant
France has warned its nationals against travelling to Spain or Portugal on holiday because of a spike in Covid-19 cases caused by the highly contagious Delta variant