When passengers land at Galeão International
Airport in Rio de Janeiro, the flight captain offers a pleasant
announcement about the weather. In the customs hallways are
English-language signs informing visitors that in Brazil, tips are often
included in restaurant bills. Airport workers offer helpful advice on
methods of transportation. There are no signs urging visitors to use
insect repellant; no officials warning tourists about mosquito bites and
rashes; no mosquito nets on sale. Yet despite the airport’s calm, the virus that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared an international public health emergency could create some big problems for Brazil’s tourist industry—particularly when the Olympics come to town.
The International Olympic Committee has estimated that close to half a million tourists
will descend upon Rio for the Olympic Games this August. Since a trip
to the Olympics is not exactly an impulse purchase, many people in the
United States and elsewhere had already booked their tickets by the time
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began to issue travel warnings
in January aimed at pregnant or soon-to-be pregnant women. Depending on
how the Zika outbreak evolves, Brazil’s tourism industry could face a
wave of cancellations in the run-up to the Olympics.
According to what we know so far, Zika appears to be primarily transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. Researchers believe the infection is linked to microcephaly, a condition in which babies are born with smaller heads and cognitive and physical disabilities.
The risks that Zika may pose to visitors in town for the Olympics remain unclear. WHO head Margaret Chan has said she is confident
that the government can make the games safe for athletes and tourists,
although she acknowledges that the fight against the disease will be “a
long journey.” Members of the scientific community differ in their assessments of the threat.
What
is clear is that the Zika virus has a lot of people–particularly
pregnant women or women who are considering becoming pregnant–feeling
worried. Some companies in the tourist industry are taking preemptive
option. Thus far, most major US airlines,
including United Airlines, Delta, American Airlines, JetBlue and Spirit
Airlines, have said that they will offer refunds or itinerary changes
to some customers traveling to areas impacted by Zika. Cruise companies
including Carnival Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruises and Norwegian
Cruise Line have also altered their policies in an effort to accommodate
pregnant women.
Major hotels frequently offer liberal
cancellation policies. A representative of the Sheraton hotel closest to
the Olympic event told Quartz that they plan to offer guests
cancellations without any cost. But some of Rio’s top hotels and hostels
for foreign travelers say they do not yet have any policy in place
geared to Zika.
“We’ve never had anyone try to cancel because of
Zika,” said a representative of Santa Terê Hostel in the popular Santa
Teresa neighborhood. “Not yet, at least.”
Several other hotels, including the Rio Porto Bay
Hotel on Copacabana Beach, said that they might consider refunds, but
“only if the government says that we should.” The famed Copacabana
Palace declined to comment beyond saying that it was booked to capacity
for the Olympics. Meanwhile, the smaller pousadas in the Rio area rarely offer refunds on bookings in the best of times. Their policies are likely to vary wildly.
A
liberal refund policy would be a big leap for Brazil. Consumer return
policies in the country are generally unavailable, or at least require
people to jump through a number of hoops. Even getting store credit can
require people to navigate a bureaucratic maze involving hours in line. Moreover,
given that many tourists visiting Rio for the Olympics are unlikely to
be return customers, many businesses may not be worried about generating
ill will by refusing a refund.
Airbnb, which has exploded onto the overheated
Rio real estate scene, appears to be quite willing to offer refunds. The
service offers up a generous promise on their website for those wary of
Zika: “Pregnant women and women who are trying to become pregnant, as
well as family members traveling with them, can receive a full refund on
their existing reservations to the affected region.” How this refund
policy will impact Rio hosts who have planned on having guests, however,
is unclear. (Airbnb did not respond to a request for comment.)
Obviously, Zika’s greatest threat is to public
health. But if current signs are any indication, Zika also has the
potential to impact Rio’s bottom line. Airlines say that they are
already concerned that Zika is putting a damper
on travel in the Americas. If the spread of the disease worsens in the
months before the Olympics, the city could see a domino effect in
cancellations that goes far beyond airlines and lodging industries.
Local tours, car rentals and event reservations could all take a hit.
And that could be a scary epidemic for the tourism industry indeed.
Sumber : http://qz.com/626375/as-olympics-near-zika-could-have-a-domino-effect-on-rios-tourist-industry/
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