Govt's Swine flu advisory on trips abroad worries travel agents

The advisory came on Monday, after local health authorities said they were treating around a dozen people for the illness, officially called A(H1N1) influenza, although there have been no deaths in India.

This happens to be the most suitable period for families to travel, as children have school vacations. Families are worried about the health consequences, especially when travelling with their kids.

"There has been 5 to 10 per cent drop in bookings. The pandemic scare is getting bigger and people are getting more and more worried. This particular time is mostly for family travel. So, when people are travelling with families and children, they tend to get worried," said Rajjinder Rai, President, Travel Agents Association of India.

"Cancellations have already started. We can see big-scale cancellations due to the pandemic fear," he added.

"People are definitely concerned. We are receiving a lot of calls from worried customers in our call centres. Customers are enquiring about the situation. Customers are taking time to confirm their bookings and thinking over it. Families are worried about the health consequences. So, rather than going to Singapore or the US, travellers are opting for Kerala to spend their vacation," said Diwakar Pareek, senior manager, International flights, Make my Trip.

"We are afraid if the situation remains the same, then we may see cancellations rise. Among all the destinations, ticket bookings for United States has been most affected," added Pareek.

However, some travel portals are yet to see an impact in terms of bookings and cancellations. "We are yet to receive any official notification. It is very early to comment. So far no cancellations have come in and there is no drop in bookings," said Bhawna Agarwal, Head of Air Business at Yatra.com.

Noel Swain, VP, Marketing, of Cleartrip.com, also said their portal is yet to see any impact of the advisory on travels.