Coronavirus; Is it Going to Leave the Travel Sector Down and Out?
A few days back when everybody was chilling in some café with their friends over beers and gossips, nobody knew what was going to come their way! What all of us read about in our science books and documentaries came to life right in front of our eyes. Coronavirus took over the whole world in just a blink of an eye. This deadly virus that a lot of people and countries didn’t take seriously and joked about it at first, is now making the entire world suffer.
Coronavirus is a virus that has been newly discovered and is known to cause an infectious disease called Covid-19 (Coronavirus disease). There are many types of coronaviruses and only some of them cause serious diseases one of which is now Covid-19, a respiratory illness. This virus infects different people in different ways. Mostly, patients experience a mild to moderate in nature respiratory illness and recover shortly without extensive treatments. However, elderly people and those with underlying medical conditions may suffer from a serious illness. The symptoms of this disease count in fever, fatigue, dry cough, SOB (shortness of breath), sore throat, and aches. In rare cases, nausea, diarrhoea and runny nose might also happen.
Most of the world today is in the lockdown. Be it markets, parks, cafes, offices, or malls, everything has its shutters down! Life, showing off how unpredictable it is, has come to a halt. This has caused a massive impact on almost all the sectors. Whether it’s the travel industries, digital market, space industry, textile businesses, or food & beverages’ companies, everybody is affected. However, what scores the first position amid these is undoubtedly the travel industry.
The Tourism Has Gone Stagnant
Where everybody used to plan their vacations to their favourite destinations while fetching discounts for it, it has all come to a stall now! People are in total isolation and they can’t even leave their houses, let alone the cities and countries. The travel sector is suffering superfluously. The worldwide panic is abounding causing a drastic drop in the businesses. Besides, no one knows the exact duration or scope of this outbreak and how much damage it will do.
Impact on China’s Tourism Industry
China is certainly the most affected one when it comes to tourism. 11% of China’s GDP comes from the tourism sector and as the virus has caused a great disturbance in the country, it’s sure to be impacted. Also, the Chinese tourists have been spending a hefty amount of money travelling and exploring the world. And as the entire nation is under the quarantine, it may be a disaster for a lot of countries and their travel sectors. The panic has also caused the countries to restrict the Chinese travellers and close down all flights to and from China. All these restrictions are costing the industry a little too much.
Impact on other Countries’ Tourism Industry
Countries that happen to be massively hit by the novel coronavirus other than China include Italy, USA, Spain, Germany, France, Iran, UK, Switzerland, South Korea and more.
USA crossed China in being the most badly hit country on 26th March 2020 with the cases reaching to 121,285 all around the region. New York and New Jersey have topped the list of the USA with the most cases emerging from these cities. Times Square and the central park now remain empty with zero tourists roaming around the city.
Italy stands another biggest favourite of the travellers all around the world. The water canals of the Venice and the ruins of the Rome are desolated. And just like China, Italian tourists are now on a ban from most of the countries of the world.
Germany, which is one of the leading countries attracting students from all around the world, is also facing a huge number of coronavirus cases, fearing students and travellers to enter the country.
A Downturn in the Traffic on Travel Websites
Hundreds of travel websites are also seeing a decline in their page visits. The travel giants that have seen the worst count in the airlines, cruise operators, hotels, intercity trains and buses operators and others. All the operations by these have mostly been closed, shutting off all the online bookings as well. Moreover, the travellers have contained themselves in the quarantine too causing a further drop in the traffic on the sites.
Concluding, the novel coronavirus has made huge destruction all around the globe. The travel sectors are temporarily shutdown having no idea of when they’ll be able to re-operate. It is impacting the global economy as well, as the part contributed by the tourism is wiped off for now. As all of this will get over, it is anticipated that the travelling will boom once again as everybody in isolation is yearning for a refreshing break.
After a long break of not travelling it really looked like travelling abroad was a thing of the past! fortunately, as international travel open up again many travel companies and airlines are offering massive discounts, perks and holiday packages! We’re certain you’ll agree that catching flights or lounging by the pool in a sunny seaside feels like a luxury, but that doesn’t mean it has to cost you a fortune! At Best of 11, you’d find great travel blogs and ideas where you should travel this year! We’ve put them in one place for you to browse to your heart’s content. Happy Travels!