Unlocking the Economic Potential of the Tourism Industry Post-COVID-19

This publication summarizes presentations and discussions from the ADB–Asian Think Tank Development Forum, which was held in November 2021 on the topic of unlocking the economic potential of the tourism industry post-COVID-19.
Tourism generates significant flows of finance into economies and has a positive impact through its encouragement of infrastructure, connections among people, employment, and entrepreneurship. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic halted what would have been a steady increase in the industry’s growth and drastically reduced tourism volumes, destroying millions of jobs, incomes, and livelihoods. The ADB–Asian Think Tank Development Forum 2021, jointly organized by the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank Institute, provided a platform for sharing knowledge and discussing policies and strategies to help revive this vital industry.