Press Release

Swine flu upsets travel plans for 1 in 2 Aussies

28 May 2009

THE spread of the deadly swine flu to Australia is set to hit the travel industry hard, with the majority of Aussie travellers being forced to change or cancel their travel plans, according to a new survey.

Leading online travel marketplace totaltravel.com’s latest survey asked the question: ‘How does the outbreak of swine flu overseas impact on your travel plans?’

More than 50 per cent revealed their travel plans would be impacted; with twenty per cent of people said they would only travel domestically because of the disease, while 32 per cent said it would have some impact on where they would choose to travel.

Forty eight per cent said that the outbreak would not have any impact on their travel plans.

Thirty two per cent said it would have some impact on where they choose to travel overseas, while 20 per cent said they would only travel domestically because of the disease.

totaltravel.com global marketing manager Paul Fisher said the spread of the disease to Australia’s shores had started to hit home for many people.

“When we first started the survey, swine flu was still confined to Mexico and the Australian public was understandably not very concerned about the disease,” he said.

“Four weeks later, with the spread of swine flu to Australia, people are now becoming worried.

“Although, there are not many cases in Australia, I think it’s still wise for travellers to take health precautions and be informed of the risks of any destination they are going to, even if it is domestically. Research your destination on smartravelller.gov.au and check out the latest swine flu information on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website.”

Early signs of influenza A (H1N1) are flu-like, including fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhoea.

WHO reports that outbreaks in humans are now occurring from human-to-human transmission, and has recommended that people cover their mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing, and wash their hands regularly, to prevent the spread of the disease.

The survey was conducted over the past four weeks and attracted 611 votes.

ENDS

Media enquires:
Paul Fisher
Global Marketing Manager
totaltravel.com
Phone +61 (0)2 6680-8755
Mobile 0404 057 367

About totaltravel.com
totaltravel.com was established in 2002 and is Australia’s leading online travel marketplace for travellers and travel suppliers. Travellers can research destinations, read the opinions of other travellers, find travel offers and then deal directly with travel suppliers to save money.