Elsewhere in the region, immigration authorities in the Philippines said they would stop issuing tourist visas on arrival to Chinese nationals to try to keep the country free of the virus - hurting a growing business there.
“Restaurants, tourist attractions and small businesses in the villages will be affected,” said business owner and vice-chairperson of the Bali Tourism Board Ketut Ardana.With a growing area of China in lock down to try to stop the spread of the virus and overseas group tours banned, Ardana said Bali had already seen nearly 10 000 tourist cancellations.
“If they close China, we will die,” complained 33-year-old Teerawat Buakaw, who sells clothes at a Big C store, which is popular with Chinese tourists in Bangkok.China’s boom in outbound tourism has created a pattern of international travel unprecedented in human history and driven the growth of businesses to serve Chinese travellers around the world. From a trickle in the 1980s, Chinese tourist numbers grew to estimates of more than 160 million in 2019.
Luxury tour operator Abercrombie & Kent Thailand Ltd., which has no Chinese customers, said it had not had cancellations yet.