MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Foreign tour operators and tourists have canceled nearly all trips to Russia from March to May amid the novel coronavirus threat, with the losses estimated at 500 million rubles ($6.8 mln), the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) has reported.
"According to ATOR’s analytical service, the total value of cancelled applications for the period from March to May 2020 now is at least 500 mln rubles," the statement said.
Some 15,000 foreign tourists have canceled trips to Russia and sales have nearly stopped. "Most cancellations account for the Asian market. Besides groups from China and South Korea, there have been cancellations from Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan. Traditionally, these tourists start tourist season earlier than the tourist flow from other countries. The Middle East is ranked second and then comes Europe," the ATOR said.
Amid the coronavirus fears, Russia’s authorities have introduced a range of measures, including banning flights to some countries where the outbreaks of this disease were reported, and ordering self-isolation for citizens returning from these states. Moscow’s authorities have temporarily banned mass events in the capital and opened a special medical facility for hosting suspected coronavirus patients.
In late December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus (previously known as 2019-nCoV) was reported in China’s city of Wuhan, an economic and industrial megacity with a population of 12 million. Outside China, the worst affected countries are Italy, South Korea and Iran. Overall, more than 100 other countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases.
According to the latest reports, China, which handles the bulk of cases, has confirmed around 80,700 cases of patients infected with the novel coronavirus. The virus’ death toll has reached more than 3,100, yet more than 61,400 patients have recovered from the disease. The World Health Organization says that the novel coronavirus cases outside China have exceeded 110,000, with over 4,000 deaths. The WHO has officially described the situation with the novel coronavirus as a pandemic.