Coronavirus: Taiwan’s tourism industry crumbles as virus fears add to mainland China travel restrictions
- Tourism on the self-ruled island is suffering from the coronavirus outbreak, despite a small number of confirmed cases, government and insiders say
- Taiwan’s cabinet has put forward a US$1.96 billion supplemental budget bill, most of which is destined for struggling local business, including tourism operators
Taiwan on Friday had recorded just one death and over 30 confirmed cases of the virus, which has hobbled mainland China with tens of thousands of infections and in the last week began expanding rapidly in Japan, South Korea and Italy.
Although Taiwanese health officials say the cases are isolated and reject the risk of a community outbreak, tourism on the island has contracted sharply this year, according to travel agents and the government’s Tourism Bureau.
The effect on Taiwan's US$15 billion-per-year tourist sector could be a preview of things to come elsewhere, as the outbreak spreads from China around the globe.
“The travel industry of course has been impacted,” a Taiwan Tourism Bureau spokeswoman said this week. “There are fewer flights and people’s habits have changed.”
Taiwan’s cabinet approved on Thursday a US$1.96 billion supplemental budget bill, with two-thirds of the money aimed at helping local businesses, including those in the tourism sector, that have suffered virus-related losses. The plan must still be approved by the island’s legislature.