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Agents are reporting diminishing concerns about the Zika virus among their clients, a trend that mirrors the reduction of the virus in former areas of concern, such as Puerto Rico and Miami.
Earlier this summer, the Puerto Rico Department of Health said in a statement that “the 2016 Zika epidemic is over” based upon Zika levels “substantially” decreasing year over year. In each four-week period since April, the health department said, about 10 cases were reported, down from more than 8,000 in what it termed the “peak of the epidemic” in August 2016.
According to Dr. Rafael Rodriguez-Mercado, Puerto Rico’s secretary of health, the island has implemented a program focused on prevention and mosquito control.
“It is because of the strong actions of the people of Puerto Rico that 2016 cases decreased, therefore the people of Puerto Rico will need to continue to work together to prevent future cases,” he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also behind the health department’s assertion that the epidemic is over in Puerto Rico, but it continues to advise pregnant women to avoid traveling to the island and women who are planning to get pregnant to consult their doctors. Zika is most dangerous to pregnant women, as it is linked with serious birth defects and is spread by mosquitoes and sexual contact.
In the wake of Zika, Jose Izquierdo, executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Co., said the island has recovered and enjoyed record numbers of cruise passengers in recent months. Additional airline routes to the island and investments in hotel renovations and development are also signs of a strengthening tourism industry, he said.
“We’re seizing that opportunity that it’s safe to come to Puerto Rico and sending the message that there’s so much that we have to offer here on this island beyond our beaches,” he said.
Puerto Rico isn’t the only destination to experience a reduced Zika presence. On June 2, Miami-Dade County was dropped from the CDC’s list of cautionary areas. That means there are no longer any formal cautions about travel to the area, though residents and visitors are still advised to protect themselves from mosquito-borne illnesses.
Clients headed to Puerto Rico, Florida or other destinations where the virus has been transmitted have not expressed many concerns of late, according to Maureen McKamey, an agent at Edina, Minn.-based A1 Travel, a Travel Leaders Network affiliate.
“We have far fewer people asking questions about it, and I think that a lot of that has to do with the fact that early in, at kind of the height of the epidemic, there was a lot of misinformation,” McKamey said.
Many clients who would not have been affected by the virus other than minor symptoms if contracted — those who weren’t pregnant or planning to become pregnant — did not understand they were at minimal risk, she said.
“They just heard Zika, they heard about Zika-affected areas, and they didn’t want anything to do with those areas,” she said. “Since then, in the last probably six or eight months, all of that concern has died down. We have had very few clients tell us that they have questions or concerns about it.”
McKamey did say one client, a woman who booked a trip to Puerto Rico several months ago, recently canceled the trip in favor of Boston because she is planning to get pregnant. But other than that, McKamey and her fellow agents at A1 have booked multiple trips to areas where the virus has been transmitted.
Jessica Griscavage, a family travel specialist with Virtuoso agency McCabe World Travel, agreed that some clients still are expressing concerns about Zika but most concerns are dissipating. Griscavage also said it has been a “healthy year” for travel to the Caribbean.
Puerto Rico, in particular, remains a popular destination, according to McKamey, especially for clients who don’t have passports but want to go to a Caribbean destination they perceive as a little more exotic.
“It really has been business as usual” since the Zika scare died down, she said.
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com