Minister of Tourism Ali Waheed has stated the tourism sector is holding up relatively well despite the inevitable negative impact on the sector caused by the global outbreak of COVID-19.
Speaking at a press conference, Minister Ali Waheed said the statistics of the ministry shows the cancellation of 125,827 bookings since January 26. However, he said a large number of new bookings have also been made in this period, noting there are currently 300,223 bookings.
The minister added the number of tourist arrivals in January and February showed an increase of 0.9% compared to the same period last year. He said the numbers indicate the tourism sector is still holding up relatively well despite the COVID-19 outbreak.
Largest number of tourist arrivals in January were recorded from China, while the largest figure from February was contributed by Italy. With the arrival of tourists from these two countries temporarily suspended, the tourism sector is expected to incur large losses in the coming days.
The tourism minister said the target is to bring more tourists from other markets which are not affected by the virus. He assured the administration will maximise its efforts to curb the economic losses caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.