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East Nusa Tenggara tourism unaffected by coronavirus outbreak: ASITA
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Visitors gather near volcanic crater lakes at Kelimutu National Park in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara, in this undated photo. (Courtesy of Kelimutu National Park/-)
T
he coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, China, may have affected global commerce and tourism in recent weeks, but it is likely to have little to no impact on tourism in East Nusa Tenggara, according to the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA).
ASITA chairman Abed Frans said this was due to the fact that Chinese visitors only accounted for a small percentage of annual foreign tourist arrivals in East Nusa Tenggara.
“Our tourism is free from any disruption caused by the deadly virus, as Chinese tourists only represent a small number of foreign visitors in East Nusa Tenggara,” he said in Kupang on Wednesday as quoted by Antara news agency, adding that the province mostly received an influx of tourists from Australia, the United States and Europe.
He said the viral outbreak had yet to have a significant impact on Indonesia in general, since China remained the number two biggest international tourism contributor to the country after Malaysia.
Read also: [UPDATED] Suspected Wuhan coronavirus in Indonesia: What we know so far
“We feel grateful for the government’s decision to halt all flights to and from China for the foreseeable future as part of an effort to break the virus’ global infection chain,” Abed added.
Indonesia imposed a travel ban to and from mainland China on Wednesday, preventing people who have been in China in the previous two weeks from visiting or transiting in the Southeast Asian country amid fears about the spread of the coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan.
Read also: ‘It will start at midnight': Indonesia insists on travel ban despite China’s protest
The government has also suspended visa-free and visa-on-arrival provisions for Chinese citizens.
As of Wednesday, the coronavirus had killed at least 492 people in mainland China, one in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines and spread to more than 20 countries, according to Johns Hopkins CSSE. (rfa/wng)
