In Pictures

In Pictures: The impact of coronavirus on Italy’s tourism

Up to 90 percent of hotel and travel agency bookings for March cancelled in Rome and up to 80 percent in Sicily.

Very few people are seen in the area surrounding the Colosseum, which would usually be full of tourists, in Rome, Italy, March 2, 2020. Italy''s tourism industry has been affected by a coronavirus outb — The area surrounding the Colosseum, normally full of tourists. Italy's tourism industry has been affected by the coronavirus outbreak, with hotels reporting mass cancellations even in cities with few or no cases of the virus. [Remo Casilli/Reuters]

As numerous coronavirus cases in other European countries are traced back to Italy, travel warnings for the 11 Italian towns that have been on lockdown have been issued.

The impact is also hurting areas of Italy barely touched by the virus.

Italy’s tourism federation, Assoturismo, said up to 90 percent of hotel and travel agency bookings for March have been cancelled in Rome and up to 80 percent in Sicily.

School trips and conferences across the country were also called off.

Lombardy, which includes Milan, accounts for over half of the cases while Veneto and Emilia-Romagna have 15 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

All three regions have closed schools for at least another week.

In Veneto and Lombardy, closures also have hit museums, theatres, cinemas and most public offices, emptying cities like Milan, where many companies have permitted office workers to work remotely.

On Sunday, the French community church in Rome, St Louis of the French, closed its doors to the public after a priest was infected with the new virus.

A man looks at the closed entrance of St. Louis of the French, a church in the heart of Rome that has closed as a precautionary measure after a priest who had been working there came down with coronav — A man looks at the closed doors of the church of St Louis of the French in the heart of Rome. It was closed as a precautionary measure after a priest came down with coronavirus. [Remo Casilli/Reuters]

University Chemistry professor Luca De Gioia records his lesson in an empty class room to stream it online for his students at the Bicocca University in Milan, Italy, March 2, 2020. Italian authoritie — University professor Luca De Gioia records his lecture in an empty classroom to stream online for his students at Bicocca University, Milan. Italian authorities have closed schools and universities in Lombardy and northern regions in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters]

View inside Milan''s Duomo cathedral, as it reopened to the public for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy, in Milan, Italy, March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Yara Nardi — On Sunday, Milan's Duomo cathedral reopened to the public for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy. [Yara Nardi/Reuters]

epa08261867 General view of the Giuseppe Meazza stadium closed due to the Coronavirus emergency in Milan, Italy, 01 March 2020. The Italian Serie A soccer match AC Milan vs Genoa CFC has been postpone — Milan's Giuseppe Meazza stadium has been closed. The Italian Serie A football match between AC Milan and Genoa CFC was postponed to May 13. [Mourad Balti Touati/EPA]

A bicycle parked in Vittorio Veneto square is seen in Turin usually full of tourists as a coronavirus outbreak continues to grow in Italy, in Turin, Italy, March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Massimo Pinca — A bicycle parked in an empty Vittorio Veneto Square in Turin. [Massimo Pinca/Reuters]

An empty canal is seen after the spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice, Italy, March 1, 2020. REUTERS/Manuel Silvestri — The spread of coronavirus has caused a decline in the number of tourists in Venice. [Manuel Silvestri/Reuters]

Tourists take photographs in a nearly empty St. Mark''s Square during a rainy day in Venice, Monday, March 2, 2020. The coronavirus outbreak in northern Italy has so overwhelmed the public health syste — Tourists take photographs in an empty St Mark's Square during a rainy day in Venice, on March 2. [Francisco Seco/AP Photo]