Adding to The Travel Industry Woes - Swine Flu
Due to the recent economic climate, the travel industry has suffered greatly. Now there is even more to add to the mix - swine flu. Roger Dow, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, states that this has the potential to paralyze travel. He adds that it could even be catastrophic.
It is feared that this situation will quickly get out of hand, so precautions are being taken. Americans are being urged not to travel to Mexico, and are also being checked at airports for signs of fever. This is a huge blow to the travel industry.
Add to this the fact that Androulla Vassiliou, the European Union’s health commissioner suggested that people should not travel in to Mexico or the United States if it isn’t necessary, and the results are devastating. She did later state that it was only an advisory and not a ban, but the damage may already be done.
On Monday April 27th, airline stocks slid and hotel business wasn’t much better. Marriott (MAR) fell 5/1% to $21.17.
Although the government hasn’t instructed precautionary measures be taken by the airports, some are implementing safety precautions of their own. Many are looking at passengers for potential signs of swine flu, while in Singapore, Sofia, Tokyo and Bulgaria more active measures are being taken - the use of devices to take passengers temperature.
Many companies have restricted travel to Mexico for their employees. Among these are Daimler, Sony, Nokia and Royal Philips Electronics. Workers in Mexico have been instructed not to shake hands or hug visitors that do come in.
Although it could be a dangerous situation, many are wearing gloves and masks on their faces to avoid possible spread of swine flu. It seems that word and panic have spread much faster than the swine flu has. Maybe this “pandemic” isn’t quite the monster it was first thought to be. As for the travel industry, time will tell.
