Coronavirus Outbreak is a Red Flag to Asia-Pacific Travel and Tourism Sector

The widening outbreak of Coronavirus has added some complications in most sectors including travel and tourism. Due to the outbreak, there’s a sharp fall in the travel and tourism industry, as most of the peoples are canceling and postponing their bookings across the Asia-Pacific region. The Chinese government banned all international group travel to contain the outbreak of coronavirus. The virus has spread all across the countries in the Asia Pacific region including Japan and India. As per the World Travel and Tourism Council, the tourism sector accounts for 10% of global GDP. It has also warned the outbreak of disease could cut more than 50 million jobs worldwide in the travel and tourism industry, in which Asia is projected to be the worst affected region across the globe.
Further, it is projected that it would take up to 10 months or more for the industry to recover. To deal with the outbreak as the country’s death toll rose, the Chinese Government has mandated everyone to remain at home and strictly work from home, due to which flights and hotels are being canceled and people faces travel restrictions. Thus, this is declining the entire travel and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region.
Some airlines now allow passengers to reschedule for free if they have flights to or from China. Hotel groups are paying out refunds. For instance, Hyatt and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) allow guests to reschedule or cancel stays at most of their Chinese hotels. Whereas, Macau, a popular destination and the world’s largest gambling hub have also experienced an immediate impact on the coronavirus outbreak. While, in India, the Indian government has banned travel from some of the popular cities including Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad among others.
Amidst all the worries over coronavirus, there is optimistic news as the outbreak is progressively being brought under control in China, some of the businesses are reopening. As per the National Health Commission in China, the virus had passed its peak due to which many places such as Shanghai have started to welcoming back numerous visits to its major parks and attractions. Further, the Nanjing government has also declared a $44 million plan to fuel consumer spending, with several coupons and vouchers being given out for use at restaurants, shopping centers, sports venues and on travel, which is expected to create scope for the travel and tourism sector to grow.
OMR global recently published a report titled ‘Impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism sector in the Asia Pacific’ addressing the impact of COVID-19. The report includes analyses of different countries. The travel and tourism sector has been largely affected, moreover, a surge in cases in China and Japan in March 2020 has affected the industries of these regions also. In the report, an expected recovery timeline of the industry will be provided with the best- and worst-case scenario which will aid the companies to take their future steps in the Asia Pacific travel and tourism industry.