Tourism operators say they are starting to count the cost of the coronavirus outbreak in China, while a leading business organisation urges companies to prepare for its effects.

Windermere Lake Cruises, in Bowness, which calculates eight per cent of its 1.63 million annual visitors are from China, has seen their numbers slump.

“We saw the effects of it as soon as it was announced after the Chinese New Year,” said sales and marketing director Jennifer Cormack, who is also chair of the English Lake District China Forum.

“Soon after that we started to get some cancellations and since then we have have seen it dramatically drop,” she said.

“At this time of year we do see a lot of Chinese visitors, both groups and independent travellers.”

She said it was too early to quantify the drop in volumes of independent travellers, but the number of coach parties from the country was definitely down.

“The first week in February we usually have 150 coaches in the coach park, we had 50 (this month),” she said.

“To lose that extra business is quite noticeable.

“We are working as closely with tour operators as we can and we’re offering full refunds and with any cancelled bookings we’re not doing cancellation charges because we really want to continue that relationship that we have built.”

The company was using Chinese social media platform Weibo to communicate with customers, she said.

“What we are hearing from Chinese travellers is that there may be a cancellation but it’s just deferring their stay.

"They do want to come and they will when they are able to travel.”

However, the impact would only increase as long as the virus hampered travel, she said.

“If this goes on through the year it is going to have an impact, not only on us as a business, but the entire region.”

James Tasker, proprietor of the Lamplighter Dining Rooms, in Windermere, said it was not feeling the effects as yet, although he was concerned about the future.

“Twelve per cent of our visitors last year were Chinese,” he said.

“However, they tend to book more heavily from May to November and have lead in times of eight weeks max.

"If we are having this conversation again in May then it will be worrying.”

He said it would also be concerning if the virus spread and began to affect travel from South East Asian countries such as Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia, where visitors also originated.

Joe Cobb, chair of the Lake District Hotels Association, said “numbers were considerably down for a number local businesses during Chinese New Year”.

“The biggest concern however is forward bookings, with some Chinese nationals still banned from travelling through mass groups,” he said.

Rob Johnston, Cumbria Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said the effects were spreading beyond tourism.

He said: “Businesses that trade with China are seeing impacts now.

“With some factories in China on extended shutdown, shipments of goods are being interrupted and exporters are finding demand from Chinese consumers is weaker.

“But the disruption will be much more severe if there is a major outbreak in the UK, which is why businesses should be assessing the risks and making plans now.”

The chamber has produced a toolkit to help businesses prepare for a coronavirus pandemic.

It includes official advice from the NHS, Foreign Office and the World Health Organisation, including videos on how to stop the virus spreading and posters to download to inform staff.

Mr Johnston added: “We’re telling businesses to do a risk assessment, look at their supply chains, identify vulnerabilities if supplies are interrupted and make contingency plans. Businesses also need to consider cash flow if there’s a risk that their business model will be disrupted."

For more information visit www.cumbriachamber.co.uk

Gill Haigh, managing director for Cumbria Tourism, said it was "surveying businesses to establish a clearer picture of the effects.

“In the meantime, we are increasing our focus and spend on generating increased domestic staycations," she said.