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Updated March 27th, 2020 at 15:51 IST

Tourists caught by Nepal, Thailand virus lockdowns

From the sun-soaked beaches of Thailand to the foothills of Mount Everest in Nepal, tourists across Asia are finding their dream vacations have turned into travel nightmares as airlines cancel flights and countries close their borders in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

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From the sun-soaked beaches of Thailand to the foothills of Mount Everest in Nepal, tourists across Asia are finding their dream vacations have turned into travel nightmares as airlines cancel flights and countries close their borders in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Thailand went under a state of emergency this week as the government gives itself new powers to deal with the virus crisis.

The country, which last year welcomed 39 million tourists, announced it was closing its borders to nearly all foreigners.

The national airline Thai Airways said it was suspending almost all of its flights.

It's a trend seen around the region and the world.

The Airports Council International Asia-Pacific said Friday that 12 major hubs in Asia-Pacific had seen an average decrease in air traffic of more than 80% in the second week of March versus the same period last year.

Up to 10,000 tourists are believed to be stranded in Nepal after the government ordered a complete lockdown that halted all flights and road travel to prevent the spread of the virus, the country's tourism board said. Most businesses and government offices were also shut.

Spring is the tourist season for Nepal when thousands of visitors come to hike the mountain trails.

Officials were working on arrangements of special flights to at least get tourists back to the capital, Kathmandu.

The German government on Friday arranged a rescue flight — a Qatar Airways charter — that left the capital with 305 people on board, mostly German nationals.

In Kathmandu's tourist enclave, visitors could still be found wandering around empty streets.

A handful of restaurants and hotels were still open, but most shops were shuttered.

Police were blocking locals from moving around but not tourists.

"We were supposed to leave on March 21 but we are still in Nepal and waiting for our embassy to help us arrange a flight," said New Lee Kuan, from Malaysia.

The new coronavirus has caused a global pandemic that has sickened at least 535,000, killed 24,000 worldwide, crippled economies and forced restrictions on the movement of millions of people in an effort to stop the virus from spreading further and overwhelming health care systems.

 

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Published March 27th, 2020 at 15:51 IST

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