IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TOURISM IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

The objective of the study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism in Latin America and the Caribbean. An observational, descriptive, retrospective, retrospective and cross-sectional research was deployed. The study relied primarily on the Covid19Tourism Index to analyze the depression of tourism activity in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on the degree of recovery with respect to the "normal time" without COVID-19. The results showed that the least affected countries were Mexico and the Dominican Republic, while Argentina and Peru were the most affected in relation to the overall drop-in tourism activity. Peru, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, and Mexico were the most affected in terms of the number of COVID-19 deaths per million inhabitants. The loss of passenger revenues in Latin American and Caribbean countries between January and September 2020, amounting to 21 billion USD, was evidenced, forecasting a reduction in international passenger traffic capacity of between 60% and 63% by the year 2020. In conclusion, a significant drop in tourism in Latin American and Caribbean countries was evidenced, mainly due to COVID-19, which has a significant economic impact on this region, with results very similar to those of other regions of the world.