Coronavirus and Travel

Event planners can expect increasingly aggressive pitches from hotels as group bookings decline and the threat of coronavirus continues to loom. The new year is already taking some unique turns.

The cancellation of a major event outside of China is a serious warning for meeting planners to take action to preempt concerns over the coronavirus.

Hilton and many other major hotel companies have had to close hundreds of hotels in China in response to the coronavirus. The outbreak could have long-lasting effects on the hotel industry, which has already been grappling with a slowing global economy and other geopolitical issues.

The growing number of coronavirus cases in Singapore has heightened worries about human-to-human transmission among travelers, but the government’s swift and clear response so far shows its ability to manage a crisis.

Trip.com Group’s James Liang warned that countries that impose blanket bans on Chinese travelers will see a China tit-for-tat later. It may not happen, but here are some of the ways it could.

As long as the flight suspensions don't last too long, Finnair thinks the impact of the coronavirus outbreak should be fairly limited. The problem is at the moment no one knows exactly how quickly, or how easily, it will spread across the rest of Asia and possibly the world.

The coronavirus ban has plunged Asia tourism into a challenging period, but the outlook needs not be bleak if industry players take the opportunity to reduce their reliance on a single market.

As the coronavirus spreads, so are concerns among travelers. Travel advisors are feeling the effects, coping with cancellations, and providing reassurance to nervous clients.

U.S. Travel is entering a new decade, and the trade group seems to be aware that maintaining growth for the next 10 years will require that it asserts itself politically more than ever before.

At this stage it's difficult to tell how long the coronavirus outbreak will last and how far it will spread. For now Royal Caribbean is acting with extreme caution in China.