Avian Flu changes travel plans

Friday, 05 Apr, 2006 0

One in two Australians say fear of Avian or bird flu has affected their travel plans, a new survey has found.

The survey, by leading destination site totaltravel.com, also found more than 20 per cent of Australian holiday makers or one in five are refusing to travel overseas because of fears of catching the disease.

The survey was conducted over the previous weekend with more than 400 respondents.

Paul Fisher, spokesman for totaltravel.com – ranked the number one site for Australian’s seeking information about destinations – said he was surprised by the strong level of concern about bird flu.

“With one in five Australians saying they won’t even travel overseas because of fears about the disease this must be having an impact on the outbound travel industry,” Mr Fisher said.

“In the lead-up to the Easter school holiday break these concerns may also mean the domestic tourism industry is receiving a boost from fears about bird flu.”

The survey asked visitors to the Totaltravel.com site the impact of Avian or bird flu on their travel plans. Excluding those who responded “don’t know”, 50 per cent said it had had no impact, 28 per cent said it had some impact on where they traveled overseas and 22 per cent said they would only travel domestically because of the disease.

The Australian Government is currently advising Australians travelling overseas to inform themselves about the risks of avian influenza, be prepared to take personal responsibility for their own safety and put appropriate contingency plans in place.

Graham Muldoon

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