TRIPVISION REPORT – TRAVELLERS FEARS OVER BIRD FLU ARE FADING

Travellers’ fears over bird flu are fading, according to new research by Tripvision.

Managing director David Jones said: “Our results show that public awareness of bird flu and people’s plans to deal with it when thinking about travel are moving week on week.

“But the good news is that the longer we go without any more significant outbreaks, the more the issue is fading in travellers’ minds. Many are saying they would now reinstate planned visits to countries that have previously been affected.”

TripVision uses latest technology to conduct more than 1,500 interviews with consumers every month, calling people at home by phone and over the internet.

The most recent survey into the effects of the bird flu scare holds good news for Turkey, the most popular destination for UK travellers among the countries affected.

TripVision surveyed clients who had previously been to Turkey on holiday and asked if they would still have travelled had they known about the bird flu outbreak.

The result showed 63% of those questioned would still have gone to Turkey, while 12% of the rest would have chosen Spain instead and 4% would have opted for the US. Latin America, North Africa and Greece accounted for 2% each.

The steady decline in travellers’ fears over bird flu emerge clearly from the survey.

In the week ending February 1, nearly 4% of those questioned said they had ruled out some countries because of the scare, while 5.3% said they had been planning to go to an infected country and still intended to do so.

By March 8, the first figure had declined to 0.3% while the second had soared to 8.5%.

Among travellers planning to go to alternative countries, 26% selected Spain, 18% chose long-haul destinations in the Far East and 13% opted for Western long-haul destinations, principally the US.

The rest of Europe accounted for 12%, Italy for 8% and England for 7%. France, Greece and North Africa scored 6% each.

Mr Jones added: “This is clearly good news for some countries and shows the value of TripVision’s ability to pinpoint not only where people are going but why and in what numbers.

“The obvious caveat is that the issue of bird flu is highly media-responsive and any new event could have an impact on the figures. This is precisely why we maintain such an intensive survey programme, enabling us to send valuable updates to our clients as necessary.”

TripVision offers a range of cost effective entry points to its database. For further information please visit www.trip-vision.com

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