Corporate Travel Destinations

The swine flu, more correctly called H1N1, has hit the travel industry hard. There doesn’t appear to be any destination that hasn’t reported some cases of H1N1. Predictions of a widespread resurgence of the flu inspired many economically wealthy countries to donate 10% of their stockpile of H1N1 to poorer countries. People in these countries will suffer the most in the event of another outbreak of this strain of influenza.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) now encourages tourists to resume their travel plans, taking a few common sense precautions. Include a basic medical kit in your luggage and get the normal seasonal flu shot as well the H1N1 vaccine if you are in a high-risk group. Increase your travel insurance if you’re going overseas. Check the policy over carefully, making sure that you have coverage against pandemic diseases.

Your best defense is common sense. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially during flu season and don’t overuse bacterial disinfectants. They are useless against viruses.

Travel plans can change dramatically if H1N1 rears its ugly head. Last year cruise lines were not obligated to grant refunds when itineraries changed and most airlines have no written refund guarantees in the event of another outbreak.

On any given day, you can see evidence of just one more way that the H1N1 or so called Swine Flu has changed travel. Any agent who doesn’t wonder where it will stop is not very informed. While the answer to this question remains open and changes often, one thing is for certain: no one wants to go to a foreign country for corporate travel and be quarantined.

It is more than understandable that countries use quarantines to stop the spread, especially in places like China, where many of the people live in close quarters. However, H1N1 pops up in various places anyway. The May 11, 2009 issue of “Travel Weekly” printed an amusing sidebar about all the strange things people have done in response to the scare, especially the World Health Organization (WHO). They not only changed their definition of “pandemic” to me less definite (?), but even more peculiar one of their representatives suggested that there should be a contest to see if someone can come up with a “more user-friendly name” for the disease.

If you are expecting an answer here to the question of how your job as planner will change over the coming influenza months, you will be disappointed. However, it can be said with confidence that you will need to stay abreast of all H1N1 developments as well as keep yourself updated continuously on how foreign countries–as well as the U.S.–are handling incoming visitors. The last thing you want is to send a large group of people from a prominent company to a foreign country, only to have them cooped up until after their event is over.

Be informed and be successful.