Witnessing slowdown in outbound travel bookings amid coronavirus: MakeMyTrip

Online travel firm MakeMyTrip on Wednesday said it is witnessing slowdown in outbound travel bookings and there has been a spike in number of cancellations amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The company, which generates 20 per cent of its business from outbound travel, has taken a hit in bookings for the Southeast Asian countries.

A MakeMyTrip spokesperson in a statement said there has been a slowdown in outbound travel bookings since the outbreak of coronavirus. "Travellers are being cautious in making their (outbound) travel plans."

The contributions from the Southeast Asian countries have got impacted, the spokesperson added.

"We do expect a potential impact on the overall business if the outbreak spreads westwards. Data on our platform indicates that flight bookings for Southeast Asian countries have been significantly impacted, however, countries in the westward region, including US and Europe, are seeing dip in numbers," the spokesperson said.

Over the past two weeks, the company has noticed a sudden spike in the number of cancellations as the outbreak spreads to new markets, the spokesperson added.

"Continuing to extend complete support and comfort to our travellers amidst the scare, together with airline partners, we have been proactively offering full refunds to travellers in impacted regions," the spokesperson said.

However, with respect to domestic travel, the company has not seen any noticeable dip in bookings, the statement said.

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"However, in light of the recent developments, we are closely monitoring the situation," the spokesperson said.

Around, 3,200 people across the globe have so far lost their lives due to coronavirus disease.