E-Paper
Coronavirus check: Pune residents tick China off from travel, business bucket list
Kesari Travels, a travel agency, has omitted China from their itinerary as almost 250 travellers who were to visit the country between January and March 2020, cancelled their trip due to the virus outbreak
Residents seem to be putting off the Oriental experience from their bucket lists till the time the novel coronavirus scare doesn’t fade. More so, people travelling to China for business/ work and those intending to start their studies have also been hit by the spread of the infectious virus.
Wuhan, Hubei Province in China is the epicentre of an epidemic, the novel coronavirus, which has infected at least 37,198 people and killed more than 813. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak as a global health emergency and a fresh travel advisory has been issued by the Government of India urging everyone to refrain from travelling to China, saying intended visitors from China might apply afresh for an Indian visa.
Besides, from now on, anyone with a history of travel to China since January 15, 2020, could be quarantined.
Kesari Travels, a travel agency, has omitted China from their itinerary as almost 250 travellers who were to visit the country between January and March 2020, cancelled their trip due to the virus outbreak. Another travel agency from the city, Mrudula Tours and Travels, had 10 business-related trips being cancelled after the outbreak. Both the agencies had seen at least 350 passengers travelling to China in the same period last year and have witnessed a huge dip in the numbers this year.
Residents too have deferred their plans to travel to China for fear of being infected. Sushil Kumar Singh, a resident of Hadapsar, waits for a call from his wife, Jyoti daily. “She works in China and although her region is not affected, I am worried about her. We communicate via video messeging services every day to catch up on what is happening over there,” said Sushil, who was planning to travel to China in February-end, but now has cancelled the plan. “My wife is staying put in China as it is too dangerous to even be at the airport with the authorities not allowing anyone to leave the country,” he added.
A lot of businesses have also been affected, with work travel also being cancelled. “I am a furniture and interior decorative products importer. I travel almost every month to China. Post the Chinese new year, I was planning to go back on February 10, but now it looks difficult. My business partners in China have asked me not to come, till things are under control in their country,” said Pavan Indani, a businessman from the city.
Another resident, Rajan Gulgule’s trip to China for work was cancelled recently. “I have a Chinese visa valid for one-and-a-half-year, as I have to often travel for my work in electric systems manufacturing. I was scheduled to travel in the first week of February, but cancelled my business trip due to the coronavirus,” said Gulgule.
A student, Mrugali Ganbote, was excited about her first education trip to China, but the outbreak has put her dreams on hold. “I received a scholarship for six months to study the Chinese language course at the Zhengzhou University, Henan province, but the university emailed us on January 27, 2020, stating that the situation is not good and that ‘due to the coronavirus issues, after discussion with college leaders, the registration time has been postponed to mid-March. The specific registration time is subject to our later notice. Please don’t come before the registration time…’ I had been waiting for this opportunity since the past two years and now, because of the virus outbreak, everything has been put on hold.”
A directive from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) on Saturday said that foreigners who went to China on or after January 15 will not be allowed to enter India. The DGCA, in its circular to airlines on Saturday, reiterated that all visas issued to Chinese nationals before February 5 have been suspended.
Shruti Rathore, a partner in Mrudula Tours and Travels, said, “We had a group of eight business travellers who were to fly out on February 15, but they have cancelled their trip looking at the current situation of the outbreak of the coronavirus.” It is not just China bookings that have been affected, but she has clients postponing a trip to Kerala in India too. At least three people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in India, all from Kerala.
“We had to cancel all our tours to China, where we had at least 150 people booked for a trip in March and April. Even the two airlines, Air India and China Air operating from India have cancelled their flights as of now. But even though we have had to cancel, there are still enquiries as China is one of the prime destinations and because of the coronavirus outbreak, it has affected 5 per cent of the total tourists travelling with us,” said Zelam Chaubal, managing director, Kesari Travels.
Contact numbers
The circular from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) also stated that intending visitors from China to India may contact the embassy in Beijing or the consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou to apply afresh for an Indian visa. While the Indian embassy in China continues to remain contactable 24x7 on two hotline numbers. Indian nationals in need of any assistance may get in touch with embassy on hotline and email.
Number crunch
Kesari travels
Planned trips (Jan - March)- 250
Cancelled trips (Jan -March)- 250
Travellers who went to China in 2019 (Jan - April) - 200
Mrudula travels
Planned trips (Jan - March)- 30
Cancelled trips (Jan -March)- 8 to 10
Travellers who went to China in 2019 (Jan - April) - 100
