Coronavirus Outbreak Costing Global Tourism Billions

Hotels, coronavirus-outbreak.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>airlines and coronavirus-outbreak.html” target=”_self” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>cruise lines are some of the businesses taking a major hit as the coronavirus outbreak continues to restrict travel from China during the Lunar New Year, one of Asia’s busiest travel seasons.

The virus has killed dozens and sickened thousands since it was first discovered in the central Chinese city of Wuhan. Subsequent restrictions preventing tens of millions of Chinese residents from traveling outside of the country have compounded ongoing protests in Hong Kong and the nation’s trade dispute with the U.S., among other factors.

Citing data from the International Monetary Fund, the Associated Press reported that China accounted for 16.3 percent of world economic output last year, compared to just 4.3 percent during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

“GlobalData figures show that China has grown from the fourth largest source market in the world, with 47.7 million outbound tourists in 2009, to become the largest, with a staggering 159 million outbound tourists in 2019. This accounted for 12.2 percent of all outbound travelers globally. Furthermore, the Chinese outbound market was the second-highest spending in 2019, with expenditure of $275 billion,” said Ben Cordwell, Travel & Tourism Analyst at GlobalData, in a statement on Tuesday.

Asian hotspots such as Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam are likely to be the most negatively affected while places like the U.S. and Europe could feel a greater impact if the outbreak is long-lasting.

Officials in Thailand estimate potential lost revenue at 50 billion baht ($1.6 billion), according to the AP.

China is currently the fifth-largest source of foreign tourism to the U.S., with roughly 3 million Chinese travelers visiting the country in 2018 and spending more than $36 billion in the process. New York City, in particular, could be hit hard if the outbreak sustains, as China is the city’s second-largest source of foreign visitors.

“The tourism industry is already facing a number of headwinds, including ongoing uncertainty over the terms of the U.K.’s upcoming Brexit withdrawal and intensifying geopolitical tensions between a number of powerful nations,” added Cordwell. “These factors, combined with the coronavirus outbreak, could mean a tough year lies ahead for the international tourism industry.”