Coronavirus Scare: Mass Cancellations Hit Odisha Tourism

Bhubaneswar: The growing global scare over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has dealt a big blow tourism industry in Odisha. According to industry insiders, the cancellation rate for tourists from and to Odisha stands at more than 50 per cent at present.

For the first time in its 54-year-old history, International Tourism Bourse (ITB) Berlin — one of the biggest travel expos in the world — was cancelled due to the virus scare in Europe. Odisha has been a regular participant at the expo.

The state government has also postponed tourism road shows at Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Bali which were to be held between last week of March and April.

Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB) is scheduled to be held in April in Jaipur, but going by the trend, it is likely to be cancelled too, Tourism Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev told a newspaper.

The March to July period is the peak time for outbound tourists for Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and China and also European countries. But due to visa restrictions from China and the overall virus scare in so many countries, people are simply not willing to travel.

It is estimated that the hotel and tourism industry will face a loss of over Rs 500 crore, and jobs may be affected too.