IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TOURISM: EVIDENCE FROM SAM ASSESMENTS OF HUNGARY AND TURKEY

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, international mobility was largely restricted, which led to severe declines in tourism activities. This paper estimates the economic impacts of this decline in Turkey and Hungary, using social accounting matrix modeling. The authors constructed social accounting matrices separately and estimated the macroeconomic impact of the decline. The results reveal that the decline in international tourism revenues reduced GDP by 2.6% in Turkey and 5.9% in Hungary, with 0.9% and 2.0% loss of employment in Turkey and Hungary, respectively. These figures are much larger compared to the economic gains from the fiscal rescue packages.