While it is getting difficult to put a figure to check if the number of passengers coming out of airports had fallen drastically in view of the coronovirus scare — because of the unusual recalcitrance of the officials concerned — it is safe to conclude that the travel-tourism is in for a big nosedive like never before.
“We are expecting the worst. Probably this has not happened after World War II with unprecedented cancellation of tickets for both international and domestic travels. It really looks bleak,” confessed a travel agent, not wanting to be identified, as he was not authorised to do so, on Wednesday.
British Airways, Cathay Pacific and other international airlines are reported to have already cancelled flights with the drastic decline in passengers travelling towards Europe, with Italy totally shutting down. Travels towards South East Asian countries too has been effected with no takers to fly towards Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and the likes, explained travel agents in the city.
“Unless it is absolutely necessary very few are travelling towards United States and West Asia too with many choosing direct flights rather than transit with Dubai still the preferred halt despite cases being reported in that side of the globe,” said a veteran travel-tourism agency employee specialising in religious tours towards the Vatican. “Tourists are being advised not to come to churches there,” he says.
Apparently, travel-tourism agencies gear up for the busy summer season as soon as the Christmas-New Year holiday season ends and bookings happen in these months for travels in April and May. “We are usually busy during this time of the year with hectic bookings, but only save for applying for visas, we are twiddling thumbs expecting a major meltdown,” sighs another agent.
“If the foreign travel has fallen by more than 50%, the domestic travel is down by 90% with few wanting to go to even popular holiday destinations of Goa or Kerala,” he exclaims.
“We get passenger arrivals and departures of 45-day period only. We have also been advised not to talk about COVID-19 scan of passengers as only the designated health official of the Union government is authorised to provide details,” said a spokesperson of GMR Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. However, the health official has been incommunicado to the media!