MACHINE NAME = WEB 1

Prospects for the post-pandemic tourism and economic recovery in Vanuatu

UNCTAD Research Paper No. 86

In many small island developing States (SIDS), tourism is the engine of economic growth, export earnings and formal employment.

The COVID-19 pandemic ravaged global tourism, through a major slowdown of international tourism arrivals, billions of dollars of lost revenues and millions of lost jobs.

The pandemic's impact was even more severe in highly vulnerable, tourism-dependent SIDS, with many of them closing their borders entirely to protect their populations and health systems.

In this paper, we examine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic development prospects in SIDS, through case study of Vanuatu, a tourism-dependent economy that suffered major macroeconomic impacts from the pandemic.  

We provide a forward look at the prospects for the post-pandemic recovery of tourism and the national economy, with policy recommendations for Vanuatu.

We also aim for this case study to be useful to policy makers in other tourism-dependent SIDS and developing countries, as they undertake their post-pandemic recovery.