Tourist hotspots brace for lean times Asia

Tourists roaming around the ancient Cambodian temples at Angkor Wat are used to having to protect themselves. Usually, it’s against the sun and the indefatigable hawkers.

But as coronavirus has spread from China to tourism hotspots across Asia – aided by the mass movement of people during the Lunar New Year holiday – many people are looking for ways to protect themselves against the pneumonia-like ailment that has claimed 259 lives.

People were wearing light blue surgical masks yesterday as they toured Angkor Wat, which is usually packed with Chinese tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday but has been notably quiet this week.

The outbreak has cast a pall over a regional tourism industry that has become increasingly reliant on China’s burgeoning middle class.

The Chinese government has cancelled all outbound group tours, while a sizeable number of those travelling independently have cancelled their plans.

In South Korea, the detection of six cases of coronavirus has brought calls for a ban on Chinese visitors. Some 130,000 Chinese tourists were expected during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

In Japan, businesses are reporting a slump from last year, when more than 720,000 Chinese tourists visited during the month around Lunar New Year.

Thailand’s Tourism Authority says it expects the number of Chinese tourists to fall from 9 million to 7 million this year because of the virus.

The Philippines, which welcomed almost 1.4 million Chinese tourists in the first nine months of last year alone, has stopped granting visas upon arrival for Chinese nationals, and is refusing entry to visitors from the city of Wuhan, where the outbreak began.

In Vietnam, authorities have blocked travellers from the part of China where the virus began, and workers returning from China after the new year holiday must be quarantined for 14 days.