Business confidence in the service industry has ‘collapsed completely’ because of the coronavirus crisis with travel agencies taking the biggest blow, recent figures from national statistics agency CBS have shown.

Business confidence is based on the revenue from the previous quarter, the projected revenue of the following quarter and economic climate. Because of the coronavirus crisis the index plunged to -40.3 in the second quarter, the lowest it has been since the end of 2008.

Growth in the service industry has not been this sluggish for years, the CBS said, but first quarter results did show a 2% increase compared to a year ago despite the fact that measures to contain the spread of the virus were already in place.

Tour operators and – often freelance – travel advisors, however, have seen their revenue go down 20% compared to last year because of the coronavirus travel restrictions.