Travel agents yet to see impact from flu pandemic

      Despite WHO’s recent declaration of the influenza A (H1N1) virus as a global pandemic, immediate impacts on the local tourism industry are not apparent. Most travel agents have noticed no massive canceling of inbound tours.
The Saigontourist Travel Service Co said the company’s foreign partners had not announced any tour cancellations due to the WHO announcement. Asian Trails Co has also had no tour cancellations, and Tour Travel Co Ltd has confirmed there has been no immediate decline in the number of visitors since last Thursday (when the announcement was made), although the company was already experiencing fallout from the flu’s outbreak.
Vietravel said the company has inked a special deal with Bao Minh Insurance Corp to insure clients against the risk of A-H1N1, with compensation amounting to US$75,000 for those booking tours of Eurpean countries.
However, local tour operators are still afraid that arrivals during the year-end high season would be affected.