" Myanmar’s travel agents have been further hit by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s suspension of visas-on-arrival for Chinese tourists and demands that tour operators cancel Chinese trips to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The ministry canceled visas-on-arrival for Chinese visitors on Saturday and on Monday instructed tour operators to suspend all travel services for Chinese tourists and tours from China. By ZARNI MANN 4 February 2020 Yangon – Myanmar’s travel agents have been further hit by the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism’s suspension of visas-on-arrival for Chinese tourists and demands that tour operators cancel Chinese trips to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The ministry canceled visas-on-arrival for Chinese visitors on Saturday and on Monday instructed tour operators to suspend all travel services for Chinese tourists and tours from China. The move followed the announcement by the World Health Organization that the coronavirus outbreak was a global emergency. “We have to cancel all of the booked tours for February and the remaining tours are at risk until the end of the peak season. Operations have completely stopped for small travel agencies that only handle Chinese tours,” said a tour operator from Yangon, who asked not to be named. Myanmar had been expecting to receive more Chinese tourists this season than in previous years. “We received twice as many Chinese bookings than last year. We pray the coronavirus can be controlled,” the travel agent said. Myanmar received more than 300,000 Chinese tourists in 2018 and more than 750,000 in 2019, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism..."