Tourism industry under threat from spread of swine flu
SYDNEY – Airlines and sectors of the tourism industry are facing an anxious wait as the outbreak of the swine flu continues to spread
Overnight, the World Health Organization (WHO) raised its alert level over swine flu from three to four – two steps short of declaring a full pandemic.
WHO assistant director general Dr Keiji Fukuda said it signalled a “significant step towards pandemic influenza”, but added, “we are not there yet”.
WHO pointed out that it has not made any recommendations against travel during the swine flu outbreak,
“WHO did not recommend any travel restrictions, we need to be very clear on that,” said Gregory Hartl, the organisation’s spokesman in Geneva,
Mexico earlier said it believed 149 people had now died from the swine flu outbreak – only 20 cases are confirmed.
Other, milder, cases are confirmed in the US, Canada, Spain and Britain.
The US and Britain have warned against travelling to Mexico, while Australia updated its advice today, urging citizens to reconsider their need to travel to Mexico because of the flu outbreak.
Tests for the swine flu virus are being carried out on individuals or groups in New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Israel and South Korea who fell ill following travel to Mexico.
A number of countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe have begun screening airport passengers for symptoms, while Germany’s biggest tour operator, TUI, has suspended trips to Mexico City but is continuing with tours to the rest of the country.
In Thailand, three infrared sensors are now in use at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, one in Chiang Mai and another in Phuket.
India is screening travellers coming from the US, UK, Canada, Mexico, France and New Zealand, and advising Indians to avoid “non-essential travel” to these flu-affected countries.
The rise in swine flu cases in Mexico, Canada and the US is set to deliver more worries to airlines, who have been hard hot by the economic meltdown.
Airline bosses are monitoring the situation but it’s unlikely that the impact of the swine flu outbreak will be seen for a couple of weeks.
One of the worst-affected routes to Australia could be the trans-Pacific from the US, on which Qantas is engaged in a price war with United Airlines and Virgin’s Blue’s long-haul carrier, V Australia.
Ian Jarrett
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