Tour operators in Pune and western Maharashtra are fearing losses of a whopping ₹150 crore with tourists scrambling to cancel their proposed foreign travel in summer against the backdrop of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Speaking to reporters here, representatives of tours and travels companies said a staggering 90% of the tourists in Pune who had booked trips with them for the summer season had either cancelled or were considering scrapping their bookings.
They urged tourists that instead of panicking it would be beneficial to carefully study and follow the health and travel advisory issued by the Central government.
“More than 30,000 tourists from the district embark on foreign tours or domestic travel during the summer months. As foreign bookings, including air tickets and hotels, are done well in advance, it is not always possible to refund the costs to tourists who are bent upon cancelling their trips in the wake of the novel coronavirus eruption,” said Santosh Khawale of the Enterprising Travel Agents Association.
He urged tourists to remain calm and plan for domestic travel if they feared going on foreign tours.
Other representatives spoke of “unpleasant incidents” at tour offices, with anxious passengers demanding refunds of their foreign tour bookings.
They urged tourists to be patient and reach a decision after carefully taking stock of the situation.
‘Postpone AMC polls’
Meanwhile, the virus stamped its imprint on local politics as well, with leaders from the Shiv Sena and the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen urging that the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) elections due in April be postponed.
“In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, we will present our demand to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that the AMC polls be pushed forward by six months,” said Shiv Sena leader and Aurangabad Mayor Nandkumar Ghodele.
Meanwhile, to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the city, the Aurangabad police have denied permission to political parties, including the Sena and the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, to hold rallies on occasion of Shivjayanti on Thursday.
