From The New York Times here:
‘The Coronavirus crisis that has engulfed China could sicken one leading
cruise line and the air travel industry, companies say. Cruise operator Carnival Corporation indicated the
outbreak may cause its earnings to take on water this year, while Boeing officials predicted it would
stall the air cargo industry and cut into airline revenues...’.
There is little doubt that,
barring an unlikely rapid solution, the Coronavirus will bite deeply
into the world economy this spring and, nearer to home, the Spanish tourist
industry. Who will want to share a cruise with a large number of passengers,
any one of which might cause a serious outbreak and quarantine? Better to
cancel and plan for next year. Who, too, will risk an uncomfortable and cramped
aeroplane flight, fearful of every cough from a fellow-passenger and a nervous wait
in some well-travelled airport?
Figures out so far this week
as the tourist industry begins to take stock: ‘The Coronavirus effect:
airlines will lose US $ 29.3 billion this year’.
‘It’s not only Chinese
tourists, business travellers, and property buyers who’re not showing up, but
also travellers from all over the world who’ve gotten second thoughts about
sitting on a plane...’, says Wolf Street
here.
This is moving quickly. A
hotel in Adeje, Tenerife, with 1,000 tourists was put into quarantine on Tuesday.
As we panic, and storm the
supermarkets, visions of an apocalyptic end in our minds, a major study concludes that the Coronavirus has a low lethality, perhaps as
low as three in a thousand. Around 95% of patients will recover without any
complications.
The main casualty will be the
tourist industry – which accounted for around 15% of Spain’s GDP in 2018.
Perhaps, as a beneficial side-effect,
we can anticipate the Spanish authorities looking a little more kindly on
those foreign residents who live here full time, modestly contributing to the
economy.
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