Tourists from China cancel 60% of reservations in Serbia for February, March on coronavirus travel restrictions

By bne IntelliNews February 19, 2020

Around 60% of all tourist reservations from China for February and March have been cancelled due to coronavirus-related restrictions, Serbia’s government said in a statement on February 19. The financial damages are yet to be assessed.

Tourism is the second industry in Serbia that has been directly affected by the new virus and the restrictions related to it. Earlier in February, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said that it is halting operations at its assembly plant in Serbia because of a shortage of parts from China.

According to Serbia’s Tourism Minister Rasim Ljajic, for the moment there are no cancellations of reservations for the second half of April when the largest number of tourists from China usually visit the country.

He added that the government is drafting a crisis plan to respond to the situation and will aim to attract more tourists from other countries to compensate for the cancellations.

ING forecast earlier this month that the world’s economy could suffer a setback this year as a result of efforts to control the coronavirus.

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