Philippines sees 300,000 drop in travellers

People wearing protective masks sit inside their booth promoting China during a travel fair in Manila, Philippines on Feb 7, 2020. The impact of travel bans due to Covid-19 has affected tourism in the Philippines due to the huge Chinese market. - AP

MANILA (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN): The Philippines recorded a drop of more than 300,000 international and local passengers following the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak that prompted countries to impose travel restrictions.

From Jan 25 to Feb 17, some 1,352,692 foreigners flew into the country, down by 272,006 from the 1,624,698 international travellers recorded in the same period last year, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Eddie Monreal said on Wednesday.