The number of international tourists received by the EU in 2020 plunged by 70 percent due to the pandemic, a report released by the European Tourism Commission shows.

The figure is the worst in decades, and according to the report, the figure will only "slowly pick up" this year and tourism is not expected to recover to pre-COVID levels until 2023 or 2024. 

In some popular destinations, the decline in tourists was even greater. The number of international tourists in Montenegro and Cyprus decreased by 85 and 84 percent respectively, while the decrease in Spain was 77 percent.

Separately, some industry insiders believe that 2020 and 2021 will be the worst two years in the history of the aviation industry.

The International Aviation Association said the global civil aviation industry will have a net loss of $118.5 billion in 2020, which is higher than the forecast of $84.3 billion made in June 2020. It is also expected to see a net loss of $38.7 billion in 2021.