The coronavirus outbreak could cost Vietnam 4 billion in lost tourism in just 3 months, according to the country's department of tourism

Get the Full StoryKate Taylor Business Insider

The coronavirus outbreak is expected to cause 3 to 4 billion in direct damage to Vietnam's tourism industry, Vietnam's department of tourism told Business Insider.

Coronavirus "is expected to cause huge damage to Vietnam's tourism industry in the short and medium term," a representative for the department of tourism said.

The loss of Chinese visitors is weighing heavily on Vietnam, where roughly a third of international tourists are from China.

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Vietnam's tourism industry is already taking an economic hit due to the coronavirus outbreak.

While the World Tourism Organization says it is too early to estimate the full impact of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus, Vietnam's department of tourism told Business Insider earlier this week that the outbreak "is expected to cause huge damage to Vietnam's tourism industry in the short and medium term." See the rest of the story at Business InsiderNOW WATCH: How lava lamps are made at the 55-year-old factory where they were inventedSee Also:An Amazon seller is advertising its toys as 'free from virus' amid mounting fears over coronavirusL Brands once owned an arsenal of popular stores, and its downfall is a sign of how far the American mall has fallenWe shopped at Bloomingdale's off-price store and found the deals were worth sorting through the massive messSEE ALSO: I've been traveling in Asia for 3 weeks amid the deadly coronavirus outbreak, and actually catching the virus is far from my biggest fear

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