In its report for the year 2021, the Court of Auditors notes that the support plan for the tourism sector, implemented in response to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, yielded limited success. While measures were taken to preserve jobs and control the informal sector, investments, regulatory framework generalizations, and digitalization were not adequately addressed.
The Court recommends continuing the deployment of existing measures while emphasizing the need for a comprehensive digital transformation strategy. This strategy should integrate all sector components and foster collaboration with stakeholders, including the National Tourism Confederation.
The report also highlights the severe impact of the pandemic on tourism. Border closures and travel restrictions led to a significant decline in tourist arrivals, with numbers dropping from 12.93 million in 2019 to 2.78 million in 2020 and 3.72 million in 2021. This represents a 78% decrease between 2019 and 2020 and 71% between 2019 and 2021.
Similarly, the number of arrivals in tourist accommodation establishments decreased from 9.16 million in 2019 to 2.52 million in 2020 and 3.64 million in 2021.