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Bird flu – ‘too early to talk about crisis in tourism’
The UN World Tourism Organization has called on the travel industry not to underestimate the threat of bird flu following the outbreak in Turkey.
The organisation is monitoring the situation in liaison with the World Health Organisation “to ensure the tourism community is fully prepared in the event of a widespread outbreak,” said secretary general Francesco Frangialli.
He added: “Despite more cases of avian flu being reported among people, we are still at ‘stage 3’ in which no tranmission between humans has been detected. No tourists have been affected, and we believe the current situation does not warrent any form of restriction or other discouragement to travel to any destination, whether on holiday or business.
“But, as with residents in affected areas, we urge all tourists to follow closely the recommendations of national and local health and veterinary authorities, especially in regard to avoiding bird farms and other contacts with birds, before leaving or while travelling.”
He added: “It is far too early to talk about a crisis in tourism, in Turkey or any other country. Tour operators already have contigency plans in place in case of an outbreak and there is no reason not to stick with them.”
UNWTO special advisor Geoffrey Lipman is to attend an International Pledging Conference on Avian and Human Pandemic Influenza in Beijing next week.
Frangialli said: “Our objective is to serve the travelling public and the world economy which is heavily dependent on tourism in order to prevent or at least mitigate the impact of what so far is still a limited disease.”
The UNWTO has pledged a special budget of euros 250,000 in case funding is required to fight avian flu.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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