The World Travel and Tourism Council warned Friday that the spread of the new Corona virus in China could leave a "long-term economic impact" on global tourism if panic was allowed.
"The previous cases have proven to us that airport closures, flight cancellations and border closings often have a greater economic impact than the epidemic itself," said council president Gloria Guevara.
She added, "Rapid, accurate and transparent communication is extremely important to contain panic and mitigate negative economic losses."
"Containing the unnecessary spread of panic is the importance of stopping the virus itself," Guevara stressed.
Guevara is the former Mexican Minister of Tourism, who was involved in efforts to mitigate the effects of the H1N1 flu virus, whose economic damage was estimated at 55 billion dollars (50 million euros), according to the London-based council.
China saw a 25 percent drop in tourism receipts and lost 2.8 million jobs due to the SARS epidemic in 2003.
Friday, the Chinese authorities quickly expanded quarantine efforts to contain the deadly Corona virus to 13 cities and 41 million people, and the number of deaths from the disease rose to 26.