WTTC: Travellers should not panic over swine flu

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has described the recent outbreak of swine influenza as "a serious concern, but no cause for panic".

Swine flu was first recorded in Mexico - where it has already caused hundreds of deaths - and has now spread all over the world, with confirmed cases in Spain, The Netherlands, the UK and other countries.

The WTTC said it was "hardly surprising" that the outbreak had caused concerns about the safety of travel but reiterated that the World Health Organisation has not advised against overseas trips or recommended the closure of borders.

Travellers were also reassured on the industry's readiness to deal with a serious spread of the illness.

"WTTC would like to stress that the level of preparedness for such a pandemic within the industry is much better than most people realise, since mechanisms to deal with global health risks have been stepped up considerably since SARS and avian flu last tested the resilience of the travel and tourism industry," the council said in a statement.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office is currently advising against all but essential trips to Mexico but no restrictions are in place on travel to any other countries.

Posted by Merv, 30 April 2009 15:55

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