Photos show the third-largest mall in the US deserted as coronavirus' spread affects businesses and tourism in California

The luxury shopping center calls itself a "premiere shopping destination for international and domestic travelers" and has translation programs for some shops, according to its website. It also accepts UnionPay cards, which are commonly used by Asian visitors.

Tourism-related shopping accounts for about 20% of spendings by visitors in Orange County, and family-owned South Coast Plaza is a destination for many of these tourists, according to Location OC. It's considered one of the largest shopping centers in the US with around 260 shops.

South Coast Plaza has also been nearing $2 billion in total annual sales, spokesperson Debra Gunn Downing told Business Insider.

"The mall is very slow," Manny Rocha, the manager of a South Coast Plaza toy store Puzzle Zoo told Business Insider. "Come first thing in the morning when you open the doors, you usually have ... some stragglers, some people walking by. [Now, you] open the doors and it's just like nothing. There is nobody there."

Fish claims Nordstrom has been picking up business as of late, although it's common for its sales to start increasing in March following the slower post-holiday season during January and February.

Rocha, however, isn't experiencing the same luck.

"We're way off numbers from where we should be this time of year and a lot of it has to do with [the coronavirus]," Rocha continued.

Rocha has had to cut back on staff because of the lack of visitors to his store. Most Fridays, he has two people working in the morning. As of around two weeks ago, he's cut it back to just one person.

"This time of year is slow, so you don't have a very big staff anyway, but again, it's even slower now," Rocha said.

However, Downing told Business Insider that it's been seeing normal traffic. Although there was a drop in Chinese and Italian tourists visiting South Coast Plaza because of travel restrictions, Downing claims that drop has been offset by its "local domestic and other international shoppers."

"Although we are an international luxury shopping destination, our core audience is from a 100-mile range," Downing said. "Every store has its own experience and does not reflect the center as a whole."

Fish claims the COVID-19 scare can be attributed in part to social media.

There was a rumor that spread through social media sites in January that claimed a coronavirus-positive woman had visited South Coast Plaza during the Lunar New Year.

The OC Health Care Agency declined to comment when asked by Business Insider about the potential COVID-19 exposure at South Coast Plaza, but the shopping center claims on its website that the HCA has confirmed that the COVID-19 positive individual did not, in fact, visit the South Coast Plaza.

“I think with the virus it has definitely concerned a lot of people and they've chosen to kind of stay away,” Fish said.

However, there was a spike in visitors following a promotion that gave shoppers gift certificates when they hit a minimum purchase total between February 12 and February 29.

Buyers who spent at least $2,500 or $1,500 in one day were given $500 or $300 South Coast Plaza gift certificates, respectively. This is a marketing event that is held year-round.

"We expected the promotion to be successful but we were surprised at how it was a smash hit, with lines of people stretching down our corridors every day to receive their South Coast Plaza gift certificates," Downing said.

However, these promotions normally benefit the luxury brands that are in the South Coast Plaza, according to Rocha.

"I'm one of the little toy store in the mall, [and] nobody comes to spend $1,000 or $1,500 in my store," Rocha said.

South Coast Plaza has started implementing different steps in an attempt to keep visitors and employees safe.

South Coast Plaza is now disinfecting commonly touched surfaces, such as handrails, restrooms, and its carousel. It is also providing free face masks and hand sanitizer at its concierges, as well as hand sanitizer stations near every "major" entrance.

However, many experts have advised against wearing face masks.

"I think they do what they can [and] take the necessary precautions," Fish said. "They're doing a great job at trying to keep everyone safe.