By Park Si-soo
Tourism and hotel industries are bearing the blunt of the coronavirus epidemic.
Fears of the virus have killed numerous festivals and events that used to flourish this time of the year. The situation has sparked a wave of phone calls cancelling rooms and space reservations at hotels around the country.
“The average occupancy rate for January and February in previous years was nearly 90 percent,” said an official at a hotel in Dongdaemun, a major shopping district in Seoul popular among foreign visitors. “So far this month, however, the rate has never gone beyond 30 percent.”
The single biggest reason is Chinese avoiding overseas travel ― Chinese account for 34 percent of inbound travelers. Amid fears that show little sign of easing, Koreans are also avoiding crowded areas.
Hotels on Jeju Island are facing similar hardship. Foreign visitors to the resort island from Feb. 4-16 numbered 270,000, down 39.5 percent from the same period last year.
