The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) are joining forces to boost the recovery of the tourism sector across the 38 economies where the bank invests, including Armenia.

According to analysis by UNWTO, all worldwide destinations introduced restrictions on travel in response to Covid-19. While some destinations are starting to ease restrictions, the crisis is far from over and this lockdown has led to a massive fall in international tourist arrivals.

In light of such unprecedented events, the EBRD and UNWTO have agreed to take immediate action to facilitate the recovery of tourism. The support is currently envisaged for a number of countries, including Albania, Armenia, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Jordan, Lebanon, Montenegro, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Uzbekistan.

The immediate response was designed along the three pillars of the UNWTO’s Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package, which will be offered to the mentioned economies. The three pillars are economic recovery,) marketing and promotion, and institutional strengthening and the building of resilience.

The package includes measurement of the impact of Covid-19, recovery plans with incentives to revive the tourism sector, protocols to ensure the enhanced safety, hygiene and security of tourists and employees, marketing of measures that can boost tourism demand. A key element is to preserve human capital.

EBRD and UNWTO are longstanding partners and signed a first Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in 2015, which they renewed in 2019.

The EBRD is committing all of its activity in 2020-2021 to helping its regions counter the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with investment expected to reach up to EUR 21 billion. The bank will target all sectors of the economy, including tourism and hospitality which were particularly affected by the Covid-19 crisis.