The cascading effect of the coronavirus is crippling the tourism and travel industry in Kuwait. 18 Travel agencies have already shut permanently and about 40% of travel agencies are about to shut permanently in Kuwait.
Around 5,000 jobs will be lost as companies are unable to pay their salaries due to the significant decline in revenues. There are more than 450 travel agencies who are suffering and are on verge of shutting, reports Al Anba.
Complete shutting of Kuwait International Airport disrupted 85% of travel destinations. Many airlines have suspended and there has been a huge number of job losses. The owners of travel agencies expressed great concern about the decline in flights, hotel reservations to some countries due to the closure of airports.
One of the travel agency directors said that there are a number of factors that increased the plight of the travel agencies after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.
The 14 day quarantine period greatly affected the movement in arrival and departure. The recent decision to open up for domestic workers will give very little profit for travel agencies.
The director of Al-Khamis Travel and Tourism Company, Hani Fathallah, said that there are more than 450 agencies that are suffering and are on the edge of shutting.
He also said that these sectors are prohibited from borrowing from banks. According to him, 40% of travel agencies operating in Kuwait will be shut permanently, 18 companies have already closed.
The director of the Arif Al-Alati Travel Agency expected that the aviation sector will not withstand more than that with debts being accumulated on the owners of travel agencies, so we are asking officials to intervene quickly to try to stop the bleeding of this sector and support it with all available means.
Al-Allati suggested some solutions to revive the sector at present crisis by allowing citizens to choose the place of quarantine for their domestic workers according to their own circumstances and capabilities, and not within specific areas imposed on them by the state.
The director of Al-Ghandour Travel Company, Mustafa Ghandour, said that a large number of travel and tourism offices have closed their doors temporarily in an attempt to reduce their losses that they may incur, especially due to the rents and salaries of employees