Take that, covid! “Revenge” tourism takes off

ECONOMISTS CALL it “pent-up demand”. But people who were stuck at home during the pandemic have another name for the rebound in travel that will continue in 2023: “revenge” tourism, as travellers show the virus who’s boss. International tourism arrivals, up 60% in 2022, will rise by a further 30% in 2023, to 1.6bn, still short of 2019’s figure of 1.8bn. But tourist receipts in 2023 will almost equal the 2019 total of $1.4trn, if only because inflation has pushed up prices. War in Ukraine has hampered the recovery, as has China’s zero-covid policy: one in ten tourists was Chinese before the pandemic. Their numbers will double in 2023, to 59m, far below the 155m recorded in 2019. As beaches and sun-loungers fill up again, this is a case where revenge is best served hot.■