BEIJING is expected to host 44 million fewer tourists in the first quarter of this year than the same period last year, or an annual decrease of 70 percent, said Chen Dong, head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

Due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, tourism revenue in the January-March period is expected to fall by 84 billion yuan (US$12 billion), or 64.7 percent year on year, Chen said.

As of Jan. 24, the city had closed 181 scenic sites and halted the operations of 3,016 travel agencies. In the following Lunar New Year holiday, the city received 81.9 percent fewer tourists and generated 89.8 percent less tourism revenue than a year ago.

The bureau has rolled out a slew of measures to aid struggling tourism businesses, including the granting of 345 million yuan in subsidies, and encouraged some to develop online tourism products to nurture new growth drivers.

Last year, the city received 320 million tourists, up 3.6 percent year on year, and generated tourism revenue of 622.46 billion yuan, up 5.1 percent, according to Chen.

(Xinhua)