Coronavirus impact on travel, tourism ‘catastrophic’
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KAA confident in staff fighting virus
KUWAIT CITY, March 4: Local travel and tourism agencies described as ‘catastrophic’ the impact of coronavirus on aviation, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting travel sources.
The sources say the sector is experiencing one of its worst crises since September 2001 and the war to topple Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003 since the air travel from and to Kuwait has fallen by 80 percent following the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Elias Mansour, General Manager of Global Travel International Tourism, says people are afraid of getting infected with the virus all over the world and this has put a break on reservations to such an extent no one wants to travel except in unavoidable circumstances. Another source told the “The aircraft that once carried a load of approximately 360 people from Kuwait to Gulf destinations such as Dubai and Doha, for example now has just an average of 9 passengers on board. This is in addition to cancellation of reservations.
The general manager of Al-Salhiya World for Travel and Tourism Ayman Zindah put the travelers into two categories – the first are those who travel on business trips and they try to postpone their travel as much as possible and are limited to emergency cases. As for the second category, he said, they are tourists and cancellation of reservations in such cases have reached more than 60 percent, he said.. Zindah affirmed the effect following the outbreak of this virus is noticeable on the tourism and travel sector, especially after many airlines canceled their flights to virus affected destinations.
A source in the aviation sector indicated ticket prices are on the offer with the aim of stimulating the market, but in spite of this the ticket sales are declining.
Meanwhile, the Kuwait Alumni Association (KAA) has expressed its confidence in the efforts exerted by doctors, nurses and the technical staff, and workers in various fields concerned in the country in the face of the coronavirus, reports Al-Anba daily.
The association has praised the role played by all medical teams in the Ministry of Health, the institutions affiliated to the Ministry of Interior, the General Administration of Customs, the Kuwait Airways Corporation and the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for exerting all efforts to deal with the emergency cases or those suspected of being infected with the virus, in addition to the awareness role played by the Ministry of Health by providing preventive and health instructions to citizens and residents. The association called on everyone to benefit from the awareness and preventive services provided by the official authorities, and not to follow rumors and incorrect data that pose a risk to society.
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