398: New Travel Restrictions Amid Coronavirus Bring India's Tourism to Its Knees
All within 24 hours, India barred the entry of foreigners for a little more than a month... It put on hold the visa-free facility granted to Overseas Citizen of India cardholders... It closed its border with neighboring Myanmar and advised its citizens to avoid non-essential travel.And all this came just as the WHO officially declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.Besides tightening travel restrictions, India has put in place mandatory screening for all travellers and compulsory 14-day quarantines if you’re from the worst hit countries, including Iran, Italy, China, South Korea, among others.As many sectors grapple with the cascading effect of coronavirus, there's one sector that's hit in the most obvious manner - tourism, and as a result, aviation and hospitality sectors..Foreign tourist arrivals have fallen by 67% from January to March. Domestic travels have also fallen by about 40%.Remember, India’s tourism industry contributes to nearly 10% of our GDP, and this chunk will take a hit.Guests: Shoba Mohan, Founder/Partner, RARE IndiaAnand Menon, Vice President, Brand Leader, Leisure Outbound, Flight Centre Travel GroupAunindyo Chakravarty, Former Journalist, NDTV ProfitHost and Producer: Vishnu GopinathEditor: Shelly Walia