Travel Implications After Mexico Swine Flu Outbreak

The following is a letter I received this morning from Alan Fox, Chairman and SEO of Vacations to Go.

Dear Ms. Roberts
A swine flu outbreak is dominating the news. The headlines are changing hourly but at the time of this writing it has been confirmed that this new strain of swine flu originated in Mexico and that Americans traveling in Mexico have returned to the U.S. infected with swine flu.

The U.S. Department of State has issued the following Travel Alert:

"The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens of the health risks of travel to Mexico at this time due to an outbreak of H1N1 "swine flu." The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an April 27 notice recommending that American citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico at this time. CDC's notice also suggests precautions that travelers and U.S. citizen residents in Mexico can take to reduce their risk of infection while in Mexico. CDC provides recommendations for those who must travel to an area that has reported cases of swine flu, and recommends measures to take following return from an area that has reported cases of swine flu. The complete CDC notice can be found at the following link: http://www.cdc.gov/travel/. Please check this site frequently for updates..."

As a result of this advisory and in an abundance of caution, major cruise lines that we represent have stopped calling on ports in Mexico and have developed--or are developing--positions with regard to future calls at ports in Mexico, while the outbreak lasts. We have been waiting for these official statements and I wanted to get them to you as quickly as they were available--hence the second newsletter this week. To see these cruise line announcements now, please click http://www.vacationstogo.com/swine_flu.cfm. If you are booked on a cruise that is scheduled to visit Mexico, you may want to check these statements on a regular basis. We will update this page every weekday with any new policies or changes. If you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact your Vacations To Go cruise counselor. These itinerary changes disrupt the vacation plans of guests, cost the cruise lines money and deal a harsh blow to anyone in Mexico who relies on tourists for their livelihood. Indeed, there are no winners in the swine flu outbreak, but canceling port calls in Mexico was absolutely necessary to ensure the safety of every passenger and crewmember and to combat the spread of the influenza.I applaud the cruise lines for taking prompt and decisive action. No one knows how long this outbreak will take to run its course but I will be the first to announce the cruise lines' return to Mexico when the swine flu is behind us. That announcement can hardly come soon enough.

Alan Fox
Chairman & CEO

If you were booked on a cruise to Mexico and had to cancel you may want to consider Hawaii as your fun in the sun destination. Choose from a variety of Hawaii vacation rentals during your stay.