Travel industry leaders have called for a proportionate response to the coronavirus outbreak amid fears that consumers are being panicked into not travelling.
Scottish Passenger Agents’ Association president Joanne Dooey called on the industry to quash concerns which she said had been stoked by rolling news coverage.
Speaking to Travel Weekly at the trade body’s 90th annual dinner in Glasgow, she said: “The problem is that it’s constantly in the consumer media, which is 24/7.
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“We should not be telling people to stop travelling because of this.
“We, as an industry, work very closely with the FCO [Foreign & Commonwealth Office]. If they didn’t think places were safe, then they’d say so – like they have for mainland China and those 11 towns in Italy.
“We need to be careful that the negative message doesn’t overwhelm everything and scare people from travelling.
“The message should be: ‘If you are travelling with a tour operator, they will only send you on your holiday if they know it’s safe’.”
Hays Travel chief executive John Hays, speaking at Hays Travel’s Independence Group conference in Birmingham, said: “Clearly it’s bad news for the industry but we don’t know how bad as it’s out of our control.
“We could potentially be facing a major challenge.”
However, Hays said holiday cancellations for the group were no higher on Wednesday than they are on any other “normal day”.
“So far, so good,” he added.
Hays told IG members major events including the miner’s strike, which impacted his first Hays Travel shop in Seaham in the 1980s and the 9/11 terrorist attacks, were “awful” to live through as a travel business but said: “At the end of each of them, we emerged a stronger, leaner and more efficient machine than when we went into them.”
He added: “We can’t influence these major world events but we can influence what we do in our own environments…when customers are scarce and even more precious than they are normally, you’ve got to work every last enquiry to get a sale.”
Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Cases of coronavirus have continued to emerge with official restrictions being placed on travel to 11 towns in northern Italy and holidaymakers in a hotel in Tenerife being affected in resort this week.
“This has dominated the news agenda for the past few days, with a huge amount of speculation and anxiety about the spread of the virus.”
Abta has been liaising with the FCO and regularly updating advice for members and customers as the situation has developed.
“Our other main priority is on providing accurate advice to the travelling public and providing some perspective to reports – covering the scale of the issue, the currently very limited nature of travel restrictions in place by the FCO and practical steps people can take to protect themselves,” Tanzer added.
The Abta press office has conducted more than 100 interviews in the last week with national and regional broadcast and print media including BBC News, BBC Breakfast, Sky News, ITV News, national and regional radio stations and supplied proactive updated statements and answers to print and online media.
The travel association’s social media channels have also been used to disseminate accurate information.
A new member webpage has also been created with up to date advice.
Tanzer added in a message to members: “As well as considering the position in relation to travellers, it would be prudent to consider your own business processes.
“It is important that business continuity plans, contingency measures and policies are put in place now to protect your business and employees as best possible.
“The Public Health England guidance for businesses and employers can be found here.”
He added: “It is impossible to say how the situation will develop but Abta will continue to focus its efforts on providing up to date fact-based information so members and customers can make informed decisions.”