Tourism losses seen to hit P70 billion as nCoV lingers

MANILA, Philippines — The tourism industry could lose as much as P70 billion if the temporary travel ban from China due to the novel coronavirus(nCoV) drags on for six months, an industry group said.

“Hopefully not, if it reaches six months, we’re talking around P60 billion to P70 billion, but that’s approaching the close season, “Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP) president Jose Clemente III told reporters.

“But then again if it drags on, it becomes catastrophic for the smaller players in the industry,”he added.

Clemente said this could lead some players in the industry to close shop.

He added that if the impact of the travel ban lags until the end of the first quarter, this would result in P20 billion losses for the Chinese market alone.

China remains the country’s largest source market of foreign arrivals, registering a total of 1.6 million arrivals from January to November 2019.

“Now if you figure in the other markets, the figure might be closer to P25 billion, P27 billion if you project it in the first quarter,” Clemente said.

Last week, President Duterte imposed a temporary travel ban from China and its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau in a bid to contain the spread of the nCoV.

Based on data from the Department of Tourism(DOT), expected foregone revenue from tourists from China, Hong Kong and Macau for February amounts to P14.8 billion.

For March, this is expected to amount to P12.8 billion.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat earlier acknowledged that the temporary travel ban would have an impact on the tourism industry, particularly on foreign arrivals, but emphasized that the safety of tourists remains the country’s utmost priority.

Clemente echoed Puyat’s sentiments noting that the whole industry needs to work together to help mitigate the effects of the nCoV outbreak.

“But then again, that said, we will do our best to minimize the damage in whatever way we can. Like I mentioned, we really need to work together, meaning we’re all willing to help one another, Clemente added.

Puyat emphasized earlier that the DOT will intensify its marketing and promotions efforts in other source markets to compensate for the expected decline in Chinese travelers.

“We are committed to supporting our partners from the private sector while our health authorities are addressing the situation,” she said.

The Tourism chief emphasized that visitors who do not fall under the restrictions set under the temporary travel ban from China are still welcome to visit the Philippines.

Clemente shared while the travel ban impacts the Chinese market, other markets, particularly the US still remains strong.

“For my company, knock on wood, our US market is still ok. We still have groups that are coming in,”Clemente said.

He added that these tourists remain confident in visiting the country, as they know that protocols are put in place to keep them safe.