Tourism likely to bear the brunt, say officials

The Telangana Tourism Department is anticipating a drastic drop in revenue, as tourists from across the country are gripped by fear of contracting Coronavirus from foreign visitors.
Women visit Charminar wearing masks on Wednesday
Women visit Charminar wearing masks on Wednesday

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Tourism Department is anticipating a drastic drop in revenue, as tourists from across the country are gripped by fear of contracting Coronavirus from foreign visitors.

Actor Prabhas spotted wearing
a mask at the airport in Hyderabad

Speaking to Express, B Manohar, the managing director of the Tourism Department, said, “In the last two days, since the detection of the first case of Coronavirus in the city, there has been a decline in the number of both domestic and foreign visitors in Hyderabad. We are anticipating the numbers to drop further.”
The Express had earlier reported that workers of the Tourism Department, especially ticket distributes who supply tickets to both domestic and foreign tourists at sites, were afraid they would catch the virus.

“As of now, we have made it compulsory for all foreign tourists to wear masks. However, we have not distributed any masks to the Tourism Department workers. But if the number of cases increases, we will soon do that as well,” said the official.

Speaking about the special sanitation drives, the official said, “Like other public departments, we are not taking up any additional cleaning drive at these spots.”

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