As the coronavirus consumer media coverage continues to gain momentum, travel advisors believe what really has gone viral is fear.
"Fear is our biggest problem right now," said Claire Schoeder of Elevations Travel. "There is a lack of reliable, solid information about the virus."
As a case point, one of the quarantine facilities used for travelers on Princess Cruises' Grand Princess - Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. - is located a couple of miles from Schoeder's home. "Several friends have called and asked what I am doing about that - as if all of us in the area are at risk from those in a quarantine."
In the view of FROSCH's Ben Gritzewsky, the media coverage doesn't tell the whole story. "If you look at the statistics, it's pretty clear that there are more deadlier, riskier diseases than the coronavirus," he said, adding that the H1N1 virus (swine flu) caused the death of many more people than the coronavirus.
Gritzewsky, who is based in Merida, Mexico, said that he hasn't witnessed disruption in travel to the destination. "I have haven't noticed any changes."
He noted that the annual Tianguis conference is still scheduled to take place in Merida March 22-25, as is the World Travel & Tourism Council (Global Summit in Cancun April 21-23. "These two big events are still on the books," he said.
Although there's clearly no question that many agents' clients have canceled their travel plans, others remain undaunted.
James Ferguson, a luxury cruise specialist with Travel Edge, said many of his clients are still proceeding with their trips, including customers sailing on a two-week Princess cruise next month.
Schoeder just had clients return from a Caribbean cruise. "They had a good trip," she said. "They did not think about canceling - they just made sure they were outside as much as possible and followed proper hand-washing procedures."
Richard Turen of Churchill & Turen noted that the agency has "clients who wish to get away this summer from the heat, the rising death numbers from influenza, and the current crime rate in the U.S. More and more clients are aware that there are more than 80 countries on the planet that are statistically safer than America."
He added, "We are doing all possible to educate them on this subject and to drive home the fact that when you travel virtually anywhere overseas your life expectancy increases. The longer you are away - the more it goes up."
In the end, Ferguson noted that that travel is a resilient industry.
"Your trusted travel advisor has your best interests front-of-mind," he said. "We remain travelers' best source of information in making their personal decisions."
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