INDIA. Flemingo Travel Retail has said its sales in India are effectively zero as major travel restrictions affect air travel to and from the country.
Speaking to Indian publication The Economic Times, Flemingo Travel Retail CEO PK Thimmayya said that business was down by high double-digit percentages in February, 50% at the beginning of March and close to 100% in the last two weeks.
Commenting on the story, Flemingo International CEO Atul Ahuja told The Moodie Davitt Report that sales were effectively “zero” at the moment.
The latest figures collated by Johns Hopkins University say that India has 425 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths from the coronavirus as of 23 March. This has seen the country introduce draconian travel restrictions in the last week.
A ban on all travellers from EU countries, the UK and Turkey was introduced on 18 March, and no scheduled international commercial passenger flight is leaving India for one week from 22 March. The country also held a one-day curfew on 22 March.
Speaking to The Economic Times, Thimmayya added: “Duty free shopping is an integral part of the whole international travel experience. Now people are in a hurry to leave the airport as soon as they can, distancing themselves from crowds and relieved to be deemed fit to go after being screened at immigration counters.”
