APEC Tackles Travel Uncertainties and Ensures Regional Connectivity

APEC member economies are ramping up efforts to revitalize cross-border travel by tackling the lingering uncertainties faced by travellers even as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year.

Through a report developed by the APEC Policy Support Unit, APEC’s Safe Passage Taskforce put forward recommendations to drive the forum’s work on passenger movements in the region, looking into issues at and behind the border that can be addressed to facilitate travel and tourism in the region.

At the start of the pandemic, the APEC region implemented some of the most stringent cross-border travel restrictions in the world, and the impact of these measures have been massive and protracted.

According to the report, international tourist arrivals to APEC economies fell by 79.1 percent in 2020 relative to 2019, which is higher than the 69.8 percent contraction registered in the rest of the world. While the rest of the world saw an increase of 18.4 percent in tourist arrivals between 2020 and 2021, arrivals in the APEC region continued to decline by 28.3 percent during the same period.

’Safe passage coordination between member economies needs to continue even when the pandemic becomes endemic,’ said Cherdchai Chaivaivid, Thailand’s APEC Senior Official and the chair of the taskforce. ’Beyond COVID-19, we need to come together and build that resilience in the face of future pandemics or crises that may affect cross-border travel.’

’Travel and tourism are key to the economic growth of our region, so facilitating the safe resumption of cross-border movements will continue to feature post-pandemic,’ Cherdchai added.