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Warning not to panic over bird flu
“Unnecessary scaremongering” over the threat of bird flu could have a serious impact on international tourism, the World Tourism Organisation has warned.
The WTO plans a meeting with the World Health Organisation to combat the looming threat of an avian flu epidemic.
But secretary general Francesco Frangialli stressed: “We must ensure that people are not deterred from travelling without good reason.
“Unnecessary scaremongering can cause a sharp drop in tourism that squeezes economies, especially those of developing nations and the incomes of millions of workers in the industry.”
Growth in the $622 billion global tourism industry could “easily” be hit by the outbreak of another epidemic following the SARS outbreak which led to a 14% decline in foreign tourists to South East Asia in 2003, the WTO warned.
Frangialli said: “SARS is our point of reference as to just what can happen. And the effects on tourism then were more of an ‘infodemic’ – too much news, often unsubstantiated and speculative – than an epidemic.”
He called on governments with their travel advisories and the media to “act responsibly” to prevent a repeat of the SARS scare.
“We know that the avian flu epidemic is very likely to happen but not what regions it could hit or for how long. But we do know from our previous experience with SARS that its effect could be substantial,” Frangialli added.
“The objective of our meeting with the WHO is to help the tourism industry to be better informed and prepared. Our message is not to overreact or panic, but at the same time not to underestimate the problem.”
He urged goverments only to issue travel advisories as a last resort and remove or modify them as soon as the situation improves.
The comments came as an incident of bird flu was confirmed in Greece in addition to Turkey and Romania.
Frangialli said: “There are still many questions to be answered with avian fly, such as whether it will ever become transmittable between humans, before we face the threat of an epidemic.”
Report by Phil Davies
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