The effects from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) have started to have a negative impact on a number of shipping-related industries and markets, from the dry bulk market, to the tanker and from ship-repair businesses in China, to crew-training schools in the Philippines. Oxford Economics warned that the spread of the virus to regions outside Asia would knock 1.3% off global growth this year, the equivalent of $1.1tn in lost income. The travel and tourism industry will face the biggest hit. Royal Caribbean Cruises has cancelled 18 cruise sailings in Southeast Asia and modified several itineraries due to travel restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus. It is estimated that cruise bookings are off by as much as 15 percent. China has been one of the travel industry’s biggest growth markets in recent years, and, trips in the Asia-Pacific region make up about 10 percent of the industry, according to the Cruise Lines International Association, a trade group. Between 8 and 9 percent of passengers on cruise lines represented by the trade group are from China, Macau or Hong Kong and the number of ships deployed in Asia grew 53 percent between 2013 and 2017.
