Group forecasts travel to U.S. will fall 6% in next 3 months due to coronavirus
By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - International travel to the United States will drop 6% over the next three months amid growing concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. Travel Association forecast on Tuesday.
The predicted drop would be the largest decline in international inbound travel since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the industry group said..
U.S. airlines have canceled all flights to and from China until late April and cut other flights to Asia and Europe, while the Trump administration has barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently visited China or Iran from entering the United States. Numerous large gatherings that draw lots of international visitors have also been canceled.
The chief executives of major U.S. airlines, including United, Southwest LUV.Nand American Airlines, are scheduled to meet with Vice President Mike Pence at the White House on Wednesday. They were expected to discuss how the coronavirus is affecting their business outlooks as well as how they are dealing with travel restrictions imposed due to the outbreaks, people briefed on the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
American Airlines AAL.O stock is down 40% since mid-February, and shares were down 2.8% on Tuesday. United Airlines UAL.O shares, which fell 3.5% Tuesday, are down 28% since mid-February.
The stocks of major hotel and cruise line companies have also fallen sharply. Pence is scheduled to meet with cruise line executives in Florida on Saturday.
In addition to China, airlines have been canceling other flights, including to and from other Asian destinations and Italy, and have been using smaller planes on some routes.
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he could take additional action regarding travel to virus "hot spots" but gave no details.
(Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chizu Nomiyama editing by Jonathan Oatis)
((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))
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