The world’s top tourist destinations were a sad sight as coronavirus
pandemic shattered all dreams of travelling. Cooped up in our homes all day
trying to keep the virus at bay, we satisfied our ‘wanderlust’ only virtually, hoping
to hit the roads some day.

Some major tourist spots bore the brunt of the pandemic, seeing only few
people visiting.

The Renaissance city of Venice runs majorly on tourism. The first nine
months of 2020 saw a drop of 73.1% in foreign tourist travels, according to a
study published by an employment consultancy in December, AFP reported.

“Without the tourists, Venice has become a ghost town, a dead city
like Pompeii,” said Anna Bigai, president of the lagoon city’s tourist
guide cooperative, who has led only around a dozen tours in the past year.
“There’s a feeling of sadness when you walk down the street.”

Paris, the city of love, saw its hardest time with tourist numbers
nosediving by two-thirds, translating into a loss of revenue estimated at 12.1
billion euros ($14.5 billion) compared with 2019.

The Louvre museum, the world’s largest, welcomed 72%  fewer
visitors last year.

“We are starting the year with activity halted for at least three
months, maybe a lot longer,” said Didier.

 The mood is also morose in
Barcelona, one of Spain’s top tourist destinations, where hotel occupancy
plunged from 8.5 million in 2019 to 1.8 million last year.

The few hotels still
operating have repurposed into venues for teleworkers or have slashed their
long-stay rates to compete with traditional rental accommodations.

Also Read | For fourth time, Japan has the most powerful passport in the world

Thailand turned to domestic tourism to keep the industry afloat, adding
bank holidays and creating incentives for locals to travel.

The policy has
borne fruit in areas that are off the beaten track for international tourists
such as in the northeast.

Croatia’s medieval walled city of Dubronik, which saw an 85 percent
plunge in visitors last year, is dreaming of a return to pre-pandemic levels.

“The outlook is good for now,” said Ana Hrnic, head of the
tourist office. “There’s a great desire to go back to ‘normal’ and we
think that’s going to happen.”