A local think tank estimates that a spread of the novel coronavirus on par with the 2015 MERS outbreak could result in a plunge of one-point-65 million tourists to South Korea.

The figure was released on Wednesday by the Korea Economic Research Institute. 

This translates into an estimated four-point-six trillion won in losses in annual tourism revenues. 

The institute added that tourism is among the most vulnerable industries in the short term and called for the need to establish a solid nationwide quarantine system.