Coronavirus: Airfares to China, Italy drop by 20-30%, says Yatra.com

Travellers are now looking at alternate foreign destinations from India, such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan for summer travel

The online travel agency Yatra.com has claimed that airfares to Southeast Asia and Italy have dropped by 20-30 per cent in the backdrop of coronavirus.

The travel agency also said that there is a hike in enquires with respect to domestic destinations including Andaman & Nicobar, Goa, and cities in North-East.

"Southeast Asia and Italy being one of the most preferred destinations for Indians, we can anticipate a drop of about 20-25 per cent in terms of future bookings, though it is too early to predict any drastic impact. They are wary of making fresh bookings to the affected locations and airfares to these destinations have dropped by 20-30 per cent," Sabina Chopra, Co-Founder, Yatra.com said in a statement.

"Travelers are now looking at alternate foreign destinations from India, such as Sri Lanka and Bhutan for summer travel. There is a hike in enquires to domestic destinations such as Andaman & Nicobar, Goa, Ujjain, North-east cities among others," she said.

Chopra said that the travel agency has received about 35 per cent of cancellation queries from travellers planning their trips to foreign locations during the holiday season. "We at Yatra.com are advising and helping customers to postpone their travel dates and book their tickets accordingly," she added.

The Union Health Ministry informed on Tuesday informed that six positive cases of deadly coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in India so far.

Global deaths due to coronavirus outbreak on Monday rose above 3,000 with the new count in China mainland rising to 2,912. The deadly virus that originated in China late last year continues to spread around the world and has infected more than 80,000 people.