World Tourism Organization Warns of Avian Flu “Scaremongering”
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 10.20.05 | 5:32 PM ET
Watching CNN’s coverage of the spread of avian flu is enough to make you want to crawl under the sheets and hide. Now, the World Tourism Organization is warning media and government officials to “act responsibly” in reporting on the avian flu, noting that “unnecessary scaremongering can cause a sharp drop in tourism that squeezes the economies, especially those of developing nations and the incomes of millions of workers in this industry.”
Remarked the WTO secretary-general: “SARS is our point of reference as to just what can happen. And the effects on tourism then were more those of an ‘infodemic’ - too much news, often unsubstantiated and speculative - than an epidemic.” As we noted recently, some travelers have begun changing their plans due to avian flu concerns.
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
