Coronavirus Takes the Shine Off Upcoming Muslim Eid Holidays

It's not the world's largest annual human migration that Chinese New Year is. But Eid-ul Fitr, observed by 1.9 billion Muslims around the world, also sees mass movements of Muslims traveling home for family reunions, or going somewhere with the family for a holiday. None of that this year. For Muslims, while the joyful victory of completing a month-long daytime fasting remains, Covid-19 will take the shine off this year's Eid, a festive occasion marking the end of Ramadan. The tourism industry, which will remember Lunar New Year 2020 as event interrupted, can write off Eid altogether. The Muslim peak travel season, which this year falls on the May 23 weekend, is a significant revenue earner for halal travel players. Among key markets are Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore in Southeast Asia, and Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, UAE and Abu Dhabi, where Eid public holidays can stretch to more than a week. But with lockdowns and travel restrictions in place, this business is “equivalent to a TKO,” said Tunku Iskandar, invoking a technical knockout in boxing. “We have taken such a beating that the referee stops the fight,” said the executive chairman of Melewar Group, a Malaysian conglomerate with tourism interests such as Mitra Travel and Pacific World Travel. He was expecting another Eid upswing in air travel next week, as seen in “all these years.” Alas, Malaysia is extending its lockdown, called the "Movement Control Order," to June 9. “The government actually s