China ordered suspension of domestic and international tours, a drastic effort to contain the spread of a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) which has killed 56 and infected thousands.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced Saturday that travel agencies will suspend tour services, hotel and plane bookings indefinitely beginning Monday.
RELATED STORY: Civil Aeronautics Board suspends all flights from Wuhan to Philippines due to coronavirus threat
Domestic travel tours were also put into halt since Saturday, January 25.
The order came at the start of the Lunar New Year, where millions of Chinese go through domestic and overseas travel annually.
Outbound and inbound travelers were also asked to voluntarily report to customs officers if they have symptoms of the novel coronavirus which originated from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, state media Xinhua News reported.
READ ON: 56 million travelers affected as China expands lockdown to control Wuhan coronavirus spread
The measure is expected to drastically affect the tourism industry, which contributes about 11% of China’s economy.
Bloomberg reported the suspension will have a significant impact on travel and tourism sector globally as Chinese tourists, the largest number of outbound travelers, are known as the world’s biggest spenders on luxury items who have collectively spent US$130 billion overseas in 2018 alone.
Major activities and public events in the capital Beijing as well as other cities were canceled as authorities ramped up efforts to prevent the spread of the deadly disease.
