While stock markets plummeted for the second day on coronavirus fears and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans of a likely outbreak in the U.S., tourism around the world is suffering not only over concerns about the virus but because of a dip in the number of Chinese travelers.
Gloria Guevara, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, told Cheddar Tuesday the U.S. is losing an average of $6,000-7,000 for each would-be Chinese visitor who opts not to, or is not allowed to, travel.
She noted that Chinese travelers are among the biggest spenders, so the entire industry feels the effects of this outbreak. The World Travel Organization said travel departures in China had hit 150 million in 2018 and Chinese travelers abroad spent $277 billion in the same period.
Airlines used to ferrying Chinese tourists to destinations around the globe are set to lose nearly $30 billion in revenue this year.
The illness, officially labeled COVID-19, is advancing across multiple continents even as infection rates seem to be stabilizing in China. A month ago, more than 2,000 new cases were reported daily in China. That number was down to 508 on Monday.
The U.S. isn't the only nation that is accustomed to welcoming foreign travelers and poised to lose tourist dollars. Indonesian officials say more than 40,000 hotel bookings on the island of Bali have been canceled. Vietnam is projected to lose billions in spending from tourists.
"The impact is like a domino effect," she said.
She said to help China, people need to be careful not to stigmatize Asian travelers and, as the spread is contained, incentivize travel to support all of the individuals relying on tourism for jobs.
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
