MADRID, November 29. /TASS/. The global tourism will most likely return to its pre-pandemic levels no earlier than in 2023, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili told a TASS correspondent.

"A group of experts of the UNWTO is forecasting a very positive rise conditioned by a high delayed demand for travel in the second and third quarters of 2022," he noted. "Currently, we see a small recovery in the regions of southern Europe, Central America and the Caribbean," he added.

"Almost half of the experts (45%) think that the international tourism will return to the 2019 level in 2024 or later while 43% indicate the recovery in 2023," the official said. "Rates, the even distribution of vaccines and effective cooperation on the protocols on travel and healthcare will have a key significance for the coordination of correlated actions that the sphere of tourism needs," he explained.

Commenting on the upcoming UNWTO General Assembly which will take place from November 30 to December 3 in Madrid, the secretary general specified: "We hope to determine the main priorities of the organization together with our members for the next two years." "An attention will be given to stability and the ecological transfer, the development and diversification of products, education, innovations and digital transformation for the development of rural areas," he noted.