March 17, 2020
LONDON (Reuters) – International travel is expected to fall by as much as 10.5% this year, the biggest year-on-year drop as the rapid spread of coronavirus sows chaos across the tourism and leisure sector, according to industry consultancy Tourism Economics.
The latest estimate is a big downgrade from two weeks ago, when the consultancy was using the 2003 SARS outbreak as its benchmark and estimated travel rates would fall by 1.5%.
In a downside scenario, travel would drop as much as 17.9%, the company, which is part of Oxford Economics, said in a research note.
(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Editing by Alex Richardson)
