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Coronavirus impacts Western Washington tourism

SEATTLE — As coronavirus cancels flights across airlines and shuts down borders, it is also impacting Western Washington tourism— starting with tour operators that cater to Chinese visitors.

“I started to receive many emails from them, saying oh, because of this we canceled the group, we don't know what time we'll come back,” Chloe Wong, co-owner of Bestsea Tours, said.

KIRO 7 spoke with Chloe and her husband and co-owner, Keith, after they dropped off their last tourists from China for a while. This last group had flown to the United Stated before restrictions went into effect.

About 100 people canceled their tours this month, the Wongs said, after airlines canceled flights over coronavirus concerns.

“It definitely will affect our income-- for at least, three months,” Keith Wong said. “Generally at this time, it's Chinese New Year. So everyone comes out this time.”

Chloe Wong has family in Wuhan, where the coronavirus originated and where residents are currently in lockdown in their homes.

“I’m so worried about family -- my family, my friends, they are all in Wuhan,” she said.

“Coronavirus is a shock,” David Blandford, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs at Visit Seattle, said. “We were not anticipating that at all.”

Blandford said Chinese tourism is “our largest overseas market by far—it’s about 11% of spending.”

He said Chinese tourists tend to spend money at well-known landmarks in Seattle and Western Washington, like Pike Place Market, Seattle Premium Outlets, the Space Needle, and hotels and restaurants.

“We project that we will probably see in 2020 a 25% drop in Chinese visitation to Washington state,” he said, “and that really follows a 9% drop last year because of trade tensions.”

“Is that millions of dollars?” KIRO 7 reporter Linzi Sheldon asked.

“It is indeed -- Chinese travelers spent about $200 million in the state last year, so that's a significant drop,” Blandford said.

The Wongs said they understand the precautions and restrictions that are in place right now and hope the virus is under control by the summer or sooner-- not just for their livelihood, but also for Chloe’s family.

“I check the news every day,” she said, “and we do chat with my parents, check them, [that] they are OK. I’m just worried.”

In the meantime, they'll adjust.

“Hopefully we’ll try to capture some tourists from other markets,” Keith Wong said.