S. Korean tourism, petrochemical industries threatened by COVID-19

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With the outbreak grappling the global community,... one of the industries slammed hard by the spread of the COVID-19 is tourism and aviation sectors.
And that's no exception here in the nation.
On top of that,... its oil refiners are also hurting as well.
Kim Jae-hee reports.
The coronavirus is sending shock waves through South Korea's tourism industry.
Flights are being cancelled and the demand for travel has fallen sharply.
South Korea's travel industry has seen new bookings fall by a whopping 80 to 90 percent this month.
Travel agencies say the situation is almost as bad as the IMF crisis.
Even the biggest travel agencies in South Korea have taken a blow.
Korea's three largest travel agencies are all going into emergency operating procedures.
Hana Tour, South Korea's largest travel agency said it'll begin implementing a three-day workweek for two months starting in March,... with employees taking a 20 percent pay cut.
The second largest agency, Mode Tour is offering paid leave for up to two months,... with a maximum of 70 percent of usual pay starting next month.
Employees of the third largest agency, Yellow Balloon Tour have already begun adopting a four-day workweek.
Airlines are also seeing massive losses in revenue,... with flight routes being cut due to concerns over the virus.
The shipping industry has been disrupted as well.
"Along with the tourism industry,... the shipping industry is also suffering,... because the exchange of goods and parts with China has not been smooth recently."
The drop in demand for aviation and shipping fuel, along with lower oil exports to China, has hurt oil refiners and chemical firms.
South Korea's biggest oil refiner, SK innovation lowered its first quarter operating profit forecast to 71 percent of what it had forecast a month earlier.
South Korea's third-largest refiner, S-Oil also saw its forecast fall to around 82 percent of last month's forecast.
And for the first time since its foundation,... S-Oil decided to carry out voluntary redundancies amid poor performance.
Experts say with more coronavirus cases raising uncertainties,... more companies may consider carrying out voluntary redundancies.
Kim jae-hee, Arirang News.

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