Chennai: Coronavirus may hit tourist traffic to Southeast Asia
TNN | Jan 25, 2020, 06.08 AM IST
CHENNAI: Travel to Southeast Asia and the Far East may be hit in the coming weeks as cases of coronavirus have been reported in Singapore, Japan, Macau, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Taiwan.
Though the government of India has not issued a travel advisory against visiting these countries, tour operators say that outbound travel from Chennai to Southeast Asia will be affected. Foreign tourists planning to come to Chennai and other cities may not because of travel ban in some regions of China and due to heightened checks at airports in countries where cases have surfaced.
Basheer Ahmed of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFE) said "There are no cancellations so far. But many people, especially those who have to travel with senior citizens, have started to enquire whether it is safe to travel. Though the travel season is dull, Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore are popular among tourists from the state."
The travel season is usually dull post Pongal and there will not be big tours heading to Southeast Asia and the Far East. Since Republic Day is not an extended weekend this year, those who go on short getaways are also not travelling. However, the spread of the virus will impact weekend travellers to Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Sriharan Balan of Madura Travels said that "there will be an impact on travel. A clear picture will emerge only in a few days. The airports in the affected countries have strict screening. This gives some confidence."
Basheer Ahmed said "the news about the spread of cases in Singapore, Thailand, Macau has created concern among tour operators. But things are not as bad as we expected it to be. The people affected in Singapore are tourists from China. Changi airport has tightened screening."
Nevertheless, travel companies have started to advise travellers to opt for alternative destinations even if trips are planned for next month because of the uncertainty over the extent of shutdown in China.
Daniel D'souza, president and country head, Leisure, SOTC Travel, said, "In light of the present scenario in China, our teams on ground are monitoring the situation and sharing timely updates. Currently there are no departures as customers are scheduled to travel from March. We are focused on the safety of our customers and are recommending alternate destinations like Japan, Vietnam and Dubai."
However, the number of people, including tourists and Indians returning home for week-long Chinese New Year holidays will be high in the coming days. Flights from Singapore to Chennai are already full. Ministry of external affairs has issued a note detailing precautions to be followed by people travelling from China to India. Though there is no direct flight from the affected Chinese area to Chennai, there are connecting flights from Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Airlines have alerted their crew to look out passengers who may look ill.
China has restricted people of 13 cities near Wuhan from travelling after the virus outbreak affected around 800 people.
TNN | Jan 25, 2020, 06.08 AM IST
Though the government of India has not issued a travel advisory against visiting these countries, tour operators say that outbound travel from Chennai to Southeast Asia will be affected. Foreign tourists planning to come to Chennai and other cities may not because of travel ban in some regions of China and due to heightened checks at airports in countries where cases have surfaced.
Basheer Ahmed of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFE) said "There are no cancellations so far. But many people, especially those who have to travel with senior citizens, have started to enquire whether it is safe to travel. Though the travel season is dull, Macau, Hong Kong and Singapore are popular among tourists from the state."
The travel season is usually dull post Pongal and there will not be big tours heading to Southeast Asia and the Far East. Since Republic Day is not an extended weekend this year, those who go on short getaways are also not travelling. However, the spread of the virus will impact weekend travellers to Macau, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Sriharan Balan of Madura Travels said that "there will be an impact on travel. A clear picture will emerge only in a few days. The airports in the affected countries have strict screening. This gives some confidence."
Basheer Ahmed said "the news about the spread of cases in Singapore, Thailand, Macau has created concern among tour operators. But things are not as bad as we expected it to be. The people affected in Singapore are tourists from China. Changi airport has tightened screening."
Nevertheless, travel companies have started to advise travellers to opt for alternative destinations even if trips are planned for next month because of the uncertainty over the extent of shutdown in China.
Daniel D'souza, president and country head, Leisure, SOTC Travel, said, "In light of the present scenario in China, our teams on ground are monitoring the situation and sharing timely updates. Currently there are no departures as customers are scheduled to travel from March. We are focused on the safety of our customers and are recommending alternate destinations like Japan, Vietnam and Dubai."
However, the number of people, including tourists and Indians returning home for week-long Chinese New Year holidays will be high in the coming days. Flights from Singapore to Chennai are already full. Ministry of external affairs has issued a note detailing precautions to be followed by people travelling from China to India. Though there is no direct flight from the affected Chinese area to Chennai, there are connecting flights from Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and Singapore. Airlines have alerted their crew to look out passengers who may look ill.
China has restricted people of 13 cities near Wuhan from travelling after the virus outbreak affected around 800 people.
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