The outbreak of a deadly, new strain of the coronavirus, currently spreading across parts of the world, does not bode well for the Sultanate’s travel and tourism industry presently in the midst of the holiday season, warn pundits.
Travel sector experts contacted by the Observer say they are bracing for potential impacts in the form of travel curtailments and deferments, cancellations of hotel bookings, and no-shows as health authorities around the world grapple with the potentially lethal pneumonia-like disease that has claimed around 56 lives and sickened over 2,000 people globally.
“The impacts to Oman from this rapidly evolving crisis will be more evident in the coming days,” said an executive representing the outbound tour department of a leading tour company in the Sultanate.
“We anticipate some clients to revisit their plans to travel to parts of the Far East where coronavirus infections have been reported. Going forward, as new infections surface elsewhere around the world, we could see passengers putting their travel plans on hold as they assess the overall situation.”
Speaking to the Observer, the executive — who asked not to be named — said the company anticipated deferments and cancellations in business travel to countries across the Far East where infections linked to the mysterious ailment have surfaced. Small numbers of confirmed cases have been reported in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
“Travellers who haven’t yet firmed up their travel plans are likely to put their plans on hold until there’s better clarity with regard to the global spread of the virus, the availability of vaccines, and treatment methodologies,” he noted.
“For now, all countries are open for flight ticket sales. Unless we get a directive from the World Health Organization (WHO) to suspend sales or if airlines themselves stop operating to a certain destination or region, it will be business as usual for the most part.”
Any slump in inbound tourist traffic, one expert remarked, would add to a “disruption” that occurred in the wake of recent tensions in the region, compounded by the accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger airplane in Iran earlier this month. Some travel cancellations were reported as aviation authorities around the world place restrictions on flights operating in the airspace over Iran and the surrounding regions.
Implications for Oman’s burgeoning MICE (meetings, incentives, conferencing and exhibitions) sector are also worrisome with several high-profile forums lined up at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) in the coming weeks and months.
The latest pandemic has echoes of the SARS outbreak in 2002-03 which prompted a roll-out of a major health emergency preparedness strategy in the Sultanate that saw, among other measures, the deployment of medical teams at international to screen arrival passengers for suspected infections.
Picture courtesy: AFP
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