Travel agents report a sharp decline, and plan cost-cutting measures
By
Leow Si Wan & Tessa Wong
A health official taking the temperatures of passengers on a plane from Germany after it landed in Shanghai on Wednesday. In Singapore, the Health Ministry has advised against non-essential travel to flu-hit North America. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
WARY Singaporeans are cancelling trips to avoid places hit by the flu, such as the United States, Japan and Hong Kong. A check with 12 travel agencies found that most have had cancellations for ticket bookings and tours to these places in the past month.
Is it safe to travel?
Why have Japan and Britain not been classified as 'affected areas' even though there are many people infected by the new flu strain there? And can I travel to these countries?
The Health Ministry has listed only Mexico, the United States and Canada as affected areas, because there has been sustained community transmission of the new Influenza A (H1N1) strain in these countries, and the risk of a traveller catching it there is higher.
Four people infected: A Singaporean woman, 22, who returned from New York on Tuesday; a female PR, 43, who returned from San Francisco via Manila on Tuesday; an American woman, 28, who returned from Honolulu via Tokyo on Tuesday; and a Singaporean man, 28, who returned from Chicago via Hong Kong on Monday.
63 people quarantined: 38 people were quarantined before the first patient surfaced. Only five Singaporeans and a foreigner are still quarantined at home. Twenty-five others were in close contact with the first patient. Of the 15 foreigners, 14 are at the Aloha Loyang Resort, while one is at home.
At CTC Holidays for instance, 60 per cent of trips bound for the US and Europe next month have been cancelled.
Its senior vice-president of marketing and PR, Ms Alicia Seah, said: 'During June, a peak season, we usually have about 20 groups to the States and Europe. Now, we are down to five.'
Golden Travel, which organises tours for school groups, estimated that 16 out of 20 tours to the US and Hong Kong scheduled for this month and the next have been cancelled.
Said the chairman of the agency, Madam Lin Deng Li: 'We've probably lost around $500,000 from cancellations.'
With these figures, travel agencies are now bracing themselves for the worst. Said CTC's Ms Seah: 'In all reality, business is slowing down and many travel agencies have embarked on cost-cutting measures.'
CTC would be sending staff for training or getting them to take unpaid leave, she added. The managing director of Dorison Travel, Mr Jimmy Sim, added: 'I am prepared for more losses. There is a crisis looming and the H1N1 virus sure hasn't helped.'
The National Association of Travel Agents Singapore's chief executive officer, Mr Robert Khoo, said the industry has seen cancellations rise from the usual 2 per cent of bookings to 30 per cent since the end of April.
The Health Ministry advised Singaporeans to avoid non-essential travel to affected areas: Mexico, the United States and Canada. Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan stressed that travellers should exercise common sense, and that those who were unwell should not travel.
'It's not fair, you are subjecting your fellow passengers to an unnecessary risk,' he said.
