Singapore’s tourism sector gets support to cope with coronavirus

A cleaner at Oasia Hotel Downtown sanitizing the doors of the hotel's club lounge on Feb 2, 2020. (Photo: straitstimes.com)

Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on February 2 that the impact of the Wuhan virus could be wider, deeper and longer than that of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic in 2003.

Although it is a little bit early to estimate economic losses, measures will be put in place to help tourism companies alleviate damage, he said.

Accordingly, Singapore will waive license fees of between 300 and 500 SGD (219 and 365 USD) for hotel operators for the rest of the year.

Those hotels where suspected and confirmed cases of the virus had been found have also had to do enhanced environmental cleaning and disinfection, and the Singapore Tourism Board will bear up to half the cost of such cleaning fees.

This is capped at 20,000 SGD per establishment with confirmed cases, and up to 10,000 SGD per establishment with suspected cases.

Full details of an overall package of relief measures will be announced at the national Budget 2020 on February 18.

The tourism sector has already been directly affected by nCoV due to a decline in visitor arrivals, especially from China. Chinese tourists account for around 20 percent of Singapore’s total international visitor arrivals, with about 3.6 million visitors to Singapore in 2019./.

VNA