A drop in visitors from world’s largest outbound market and fears at home over coronavirus outbreak take a toll on other countries.
Published by Al Jazeera English, Feb. 8, 2020
By Tom Benner
Singapore – China is the world’s largest source of outbound tourists. But travel bans, suspended flights, and government advisories are keeping many would-be tourists from mainland China at home – with their tourist dollars.
That means regional economies with traditionally high volumes of Chinese tourists are losing a lot of what used to be steady business and, in some of those markets, such as Singapore, many in the country are staying home for fear of the spreading coronavirus – delivering a one-two punch to many local businesses.
Tourists from mainland China make up about one-fifth of all visitors to Singapore. Yet despite its strong links with China, Singapore was among the first countries to impose a travel ban on Chinese visitors following the outbreak of the virus. Continue reading …
Tom Benner Reports 