Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Travelers leery of swine flu

Some Americans say they will factor in the swine flu when making travel decisions, but local and state officials say the Myrtle Beach area has nothing to fret about.

Of those who intend to take a leisure trip during the next six months, more than one third would be "very or extremely likely" to alter their travel plans if their intended destination has a widespread outbreak of the H1N1 virus, according to a survey released by the YPartnership and the U.S. Travel Assoc-iation.

Of those who would change their plans, about 45 percent said they would postpone their trip until the outbreak subsided, 32 percent said they would choose a different destination and 31 percent said they would cancel their trip, the data showed.

"It doesn't surprise me. I think people have made it very clear of their fears and their concerns over the pandemic flu," said Stephen Greene, president and chief executive of the Myrtle Beach Area Hospitality Association. "It's something that obviously we'll continue to monitor."

During the past several months, the association has sent several e-mails to its members giving them tips on the best ways to keep employees and guests healthy, Greene said.

The group's Web site also has a pandemic flu booklet for staff and managers, a travel industry flu preparedness checklist and links to other Web sites that can give the latest information on the H1N1 virus.

Everything is in place for preparing the businesses to decrease their chances of spreading the virus, but if it became a "full-blown issue" in the area, officials would act accordingly, Greene said.

Brad Dean, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said he wasn't surprised by the statistics.

He acknowledged that any health scare has the potential to affect tourism, but said the Grand Strand is well-prepared to handle the threat because of detailed plans put together by the county Emergency Management Department, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the Myrtle Beach Area Recovery Council.

The last was formed after Hurricane Hugo to head off any negative publicity that could result from an environmental or health crisis, Dean said. It is made up of chamber representatives, local public relations professionals and public information officers from several local departments.

"We're certainly hopeful that we won't have to deal with it, but we're certainly prepared if the situation were to arise," he said.

Since Sept. 1, 558 people have been hospitalized with swine flu in South Carolina and 20 people have died, according to DHEC. Because of the massive numbers of swine flu incidents, DHEC has stopped tracking all cases and only keeps a record of swine flu-related hospitalizations, deaths or clusters, said Adam Myrick, spokesman for the department.

He declined to comment on the tourism implications of the presence of H1N1 in the state, but said it doesn't make a lot of sense for people to cancel travel plans.

"H1N1, by the very definition of it being pandemic, is everywhere," Myrick said. "One would be hard-pressed to find a vacation spot that is H1N1-free in this country."