Hanatour Service Inc, South Korea's largest travel agency, said that cancellations of trips to China increased about 20% this week compared to same period last year. The figure includes postponements and switches to other destinations, a company official said.
Rajeev Kale, country head for Thomas Cook India's holidays division, said some customers were raising concerns about travelling to China. "Most of our customers are adopting a wait and watch approach to see further developments," he said.
Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Japan Airlines said there was no slowdown in bookings to and from China yet, while low-cost Filipino carrier Cebu Pacific said some passengers had expressed concerns about whether it was safe to fly but had not cancelled bookings.
Passengers on a China Southern Airlines flight from the Chinese city of Wuhan arriving at Rome's Fiumicino airport early on Thursday were checked for signs of coronavirus, an airport spokesman said.
The check on the 202 passengers and crew was the first since Italian health authorities ordered special control measures to prevent transmission of the virus this week. There was no information on any possible suspected cases.
