The Covid-19 outbreak is taking a great toll on the travel booking industry

Since the arrival of China’s epidemic came prior to the busiest travel season, the Chinese New Year holiday, major travel booking platforms including Trip.com, Qunar and Fliggy all received a hard blow as ticket change applications flooded in from users. They were meanwhile forced to revise policies offering free rescheduling and cancellations, in line with authorities’ advice, which discouraged people from leaving home. Trip.com is expecting a steep drop in its Q1 revenue falling by as much as half. Moreover, top executives within the company have voluntarily taken pay cuts to mitigate the attendant financial impact beginning in March, until the time when the situation recovers.