Coronavirus: Tourism sector to take a big hit

NEW DELHI:  Outbreak of Coronavirus in China and precautionary measures taken worldwide to limit its spread has started affecting the already weakened tourism industry in the country. Two of India’s top destinations — Goa and Agra — are witnessing a significant drop in the arrival of tourists, especially from eastern countries. According to experts, the earning will take a major hit if situation becomes more hostile. “We are frequently getting requests for cancellations of flights and hotels and the requests increased by 80 per cent this week.

We wish things get fixed sooner as both the countries share strong trade relations and this situation can affect a lot,” said Prashant Pitti, co-founder, executive director, EaseMyTrip. India annually earns nearly $30 billion from foreign tourist arrivals. Though China’s contribution is pegged at less than three per cent, an estimated cancellation of around 50,000 tourists in February and March will significantly affect the hospitality, aviation and handicraft industries.

“The outbreak comes at a time when the Indian hospitality industry is already reeling under muted demand conditions owing to the ongoing slowdown and the civil unrest in various parts of the country,” rating agency ICRA said, the impact of this pandemic cannot be viewed purely on regional dynamics as CY2020 is bound to be a year of weakness in global travel.

Major tour operators said they are examining their forthcoming tours in South Eastern (SE) nations and have started offering alternate solutions. “We do have tours operating as per schedule to SE Asia that are being carefully monitored by our central tour management control team. We are in constant touch with customers, and also with our tour managers and partners to ensure their safety and well being,” said Rajeev Kale, president and country head – Holiday, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

Daniel D’souza, president and country head, SOTC Travel said, “We are focused about the safety of our customers and are recommending alternate destinations such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jordan, Egypt, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and Seychelles for them.”India has already banned travelling to China and Hong Kong, and stopped taking travellers from the neighbouring nation. Indian travellers, according to experts, have become cautious to travel Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and other eastern nations.