Swapnali Morajkar, a professional from Mumbai, is all set to go to Thailand for a much-awaited girls-only tour. And chances are high, it will not happen. “The trip that we planned for Bangkok is on March 7. But the more we read about coronavirus every day, the more I am contemplating on cancelling it. There is a lot of pressure from my parents to do so. My husband, who was heading to Vietnam for a bachelor destination party, has also cancelled his plans. I’m in two minds because it’s going to be a loss as the tickets are non-refundable. It’s long since we did a girls’ trip and we needed this break, but I am also scared. What
if we land up with a cough and cold and get quarantined? It will be scary.”
She’s not alone. As the world grapples with the virus, there’s a growing anxiety over the outbreak leading to people changing their travel itineraries in a bid to stay safe. A fear of taking off to destinations around the globe, transiting through airports and coming face-to-face with other passengers is getting them to do a volte face with travel. It’s making life tough for the tourism sector.
Tour operators feel the brunt
Several travel companies and smaller operators have been dealing with an increasing number of customers who want to avoid China and the Far East. Travel company owner Prateek Deo has been refunding booking amounts to people due to cancellations since the last two weeks, “It’s been crazy, trying to deal with it. We do understand as this was difficult situation. We have a tour planned for Vietnam in November, but people who showed interest and booked a token amount, are already withdrawing. We have to pay the booking amount as refund to them. Though it may be a token amount, it amounts to a lot when taken collectively. Some of the flights that were booked are hopping flights, which go via Singapore and Hong Kong and people are saying, “We are clear about it, we don’t want to go.”
Affirms travel company head, Veneeta Rawat, “It’s been a roller coaster couple of weeks for us. International travel traffic has been reduced drastically owing to corona virus and business has been hugely impacted for the month of Feb-March. The Far East is a big destination for people who don’t want a long-haul break. In fact, almost 25 percent of our business goes to the Far East. We have had 90 percent cancellations and changes so far. Some countries have been supportive and allowed passengers to travel at a later date, and some countries haven’t issued a travel advisory yet, so there’s no refund. We had organised a seven-member food tour next week to Vietnam which is cancelled for now and may take place in December.”
The summer vacations are hit, too. She adds, “Even for May-June, people are not willing to pay up, whereas in other times, by now they would have booked advance air tickets and hotels. It’s not just China, people travelling to places like Australia, too are wary, owing to the Far-East transit”.
‘I’m buying masks to take back with me to Singapore as they’re out of stock there’
The situation has led to some travellers carting home masks for protection against the virus. Subash Banerjee, who flew to Mumbai for a few days from his home in Singapore, is doing just that. “Items like masks and thermometers are out of stock now in Singapore, so I am buying them to take back with me,” he states. He adds, “Singapore’s Changi Airport, which usually sees a huge volume of people, is far emptier than ever before. The malls in Singapore are also seeing lesser volumes of people. A fear of the virus definitely abounds.”
Travel industry in India is focusing on boosting domestic tourism
The situation has thrown the travel industry into a crisis management situation. Jyoti Mayal, President TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) says that in South East Asia business has been affected a lot. “It’s going into millions — hotels have closed down and people who had booked earlier are cancelling. Here, we are trying to see that people are using precautions and a list of dos and don’ts are being circulated. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but we have to build on opportunities. We are trying to see that more domestic tourism happens. With people hesitant to fly abroad, within the country we are still better off. We have given a letter to the aviation ministry to say please deploy more airlines this side. Summer season and April is not far and people will shift their travel plans from South East Asia to neighbouring areas like Middle East and Europe. We want more planes this side, so fares are not hiked up as much. It’s business for the airline and business for the country.”
Bachelorettes go local, destination weddings put on hold
Says wedding planner Dhawal Oza, “We had a couple of recce trips for an upcoming shaadi planned in Sri Lanka and Hua Hin in Thailand, but we had to cancel owing to virus fears. The families opted out as they want would rather be safe than sorry. Also, artistes who were to perform at April-May weddings have cancelled. For now, they have said they want to wait and watch the situation. My sister had planned a bachelorette to Bali this February. She and her pals just went to Goa and had it there.”
Face masks at International Fashion Week
The prestigious London Fashion Week that kicked off on February 14, had people wearing stylish face masks and using hand sanitisers amid coronavirus fears. With items are not being able to arrive from China, some designers had to make last-minute changes to their ramp. Also, the impact of Chinese attendance at the event was felt as China has been a major player when it comes to global luxury sales. There are also reports that the Shanghai Fashion Week, set to kick off on March 26, has been postponed.
Film releases affected
Reports say 70,000 theaters are closed in China. Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland are also temporarily closed as a precautionary measure
China holds sway as the second-largest market for the global movie industry, having the world’s second-largest earnings at the box office (it is said to have generated over £6bn in revenue in 2019). The coronavirus outbreak, has led to film release cancellations. Chinese regulations prevent Chinese-produced movies from being released overseas before they are released in the region. The Jackie Chan-starrer, Vanguard, Detective Chinatown 3 and The Rescue are now postponed.
if we land up with a cough and cold and get quarantined? It will be scary.”
She’s not alone. As the world grapples with the virus, there’s a growing anxiety over the outbreak leading to people changing their travel itineraries in a bid to stay safe. A fear of taking off to destinations around the globe, transiting through airports and coming face-to-face with other passengers is getting them to do a volte face with travel. It’s making life tough for the tourism sector.
Tour operators feel the brunt
(pic for representation)
Several travel companies and smaller operators have been dealing with an increasing number of customers who want to avoid China and the Far East. Travel company owner Prateek Deo has been refunding booking amounts to people due to cancellations since the last two weeks, “It’s been crazy, trying to deal with it. We do understand as this was difficult situation. We have a tour planned for Vietnam in November, but people who showed interest and booked a token amount, are already withdrawing. We have to pay the booking amount as refund to them. Though it may be a token amount, it amounts to a lot when taken collectively. Some of the flights that were booked are hopping flights, which go via Singapore and Hong Kong and people are saying, “We are clear about it, we don’t want to go.”
Affirms travel company head, Veneeta Rawat, “It’s been a roller coaster couple of weeks for us. International travel traffic has been reduced drastically owing to corona virus and business has been hugely impacted for the month of Feb-March. The Far East is a big destination for people who don’t want a long-haul break. In fact, almost 25 percent of our business goes to the Far East. We have had 90 percent cancellations and changes so far. Some countries have been supportive and allowed passengers to travel at a later date, and some countries haven’t issued a travel advisory yet, so there’s no refund. We had organised a seven-member food tour next week to Vietnam which is cancelled for now and may take place in December.”
The summer vacations are hit, too. She adds, “Even for May-June, people are not willing to pay up, whereas in other times, by now they would have booked advance air tickets and hotels. It’s not just China, people travelling to places like Australia, too are wary, owing to the Far-East transit”.
‘I’m buying masks to take back with me to Singapore as they’re out of stock there’
<p>Two types of protective face masks<br></p>
The situation has led to some travellers carting home masks for protection against the virus. Subash Banerjee, who flew to Mumbai for a few days from his home in Singapore, is doing just that. “Items like masks and thermometers are out of stock now in Singapore, so I am buying them to take back with me,” he states. He adds, “Singapore’s Changi Airport, which usually sees a huge volume of people, is far emptier than ever before. The malls in Singapore are also seeing lesser volumes of people. A fear of the virus definitely abounds.”
Travel industry in India is focusing on boosting domestic tourism
The situation has thrown the travel industry into a crisis management situation. Jyoti Mayal, President TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) says that in South East Asia business has been affected a lot. “It’s going into millions — hotels have closed down and people who had booked earlier are cancelling. Here, we are trying to see that people are using precautions and a list of dos and don’ts are being circulated. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but we have to build on opportunities. We are trying to see that more domestic tourism happens. With people hesitant to fly abroad, within the country we are still better off. We have given a letter to the aviation ministry to say please deploy more airlines this side. Summer season and April is not far and people will shift their travel plans from South East Asia to neighbouring areas like Middle East and Europe. We want more planes this side, so fares are not hiked up as much. It’s business for the airline and business for the country.”
Bachelorettes go local, destination weddings put on hold
Says wedding planner Dhawal Oza, “We had a couple of recce trips for an upcoming shaadi planned in Sri Lanka and Hua Hin in Thailand, but we had to cancel owing to virus fears. The families opted out as they want would rather be safe than sorry. Also, artistes who were to perform at April-May weddings have cancelled. For now, they have said they want to wait and watch the situation. My sister had planned a bachelorette to Bali this February. She and her pals just went to Goa and had it there.”
Face masks at International Fashion Week
A woman wears a face mask during the London Fashion Week
The prestigious London Fashion Week that kicked off on February 14, had people wearing stylish face masks and using hand sanitisers amid coronavirus fears. With items are not being able to arrive from China, some designers had to make last-minute changes to their ramp. Also, the impact of Chinese attendance at the event was felt as China has been a major player when it comes to global luxury sales. There are also reports that the Shanghai Fashion Week, set to kick off on March 26, has been postponed.
Film releases affected
Reports say 70,000 theaters are closed in China. Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland are also temporarily closed as a precautionary measure
Employees wearing protective masks stand outside the Hong Kong Disneyland theme park that has been closed, following the coronavirus outbreak, in Hong Kong
China holds sway as the second-largest market for the global movie industry, having the world’s second-largest earnings at the box office (it is said to have generated over £6bn in revenue in 2019). The coronavirus outbreak, has led to film release cancellations. Chinese regulations prevent Chinese-produced movies from being released overseas before they are released in the region. The Jackie Chan-starrer, Vanguard, Detective Chinatown 3 and The Rescue are now postponed.
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