Hotels and resorts in the Caribbean and Mexico are celebrating and they are expecting that more tourists will visit during the holidays now that the World Health Organization declared that Zika is no longer a global health emergency. Both destinations have suffered weak travel demands for the past six months following the Zika outbreak.
Last month, WHO made the announcement about Zika, and travellers are ecstatic. Just a day after the announcement, the Signature Travel Network, which has at least 7,000 agents received about 1,000 inquiries for Caribbean and Mexico trips and several hundred confirmed bookings.
Executive vice president, Ignacio Maza, said: "Reservations to these areas were slow this year because of the virus, but the pickup was speedy. "
Seller of cheap Caribbean and Mexico trips, CheapCaribbean.com also experience a jump in sales. Dan Marmontello, the site's Caribbean product manager, said: "Though we didn't have a decrease in trips to the Caribbean and Mexico because of Zika, when the W.H.O. status changed, we had our best two weeks of business to these destinations, thus far, for this year," Marmontello told New York Times.
Luxury travel company, Ovation Vacations, was able to book 93 Caribbean and Mexico trips in the week after W.H.O.'s announcement, Julie Danziger, a managing director confirmed. Other hotels also reported an instant turnaround.
Many hotels and resorts now offer affordable travel packages to the Carribean and Mexico. Reservations for the holidays and next year has spiked, which came as a welcome surprise after these areas faced the Zika threat in January.
Even though the news about Zika brings back confidence in vacationing to the affected regions, health experts still warn travellers to keep safe, since Zika remains a concern. Pregnant women should be extra careful and should reconsider travelling, especially to Zika-affected areas. All travellers to Mexico and the Caribbean should frequently apply and reapply mosquito repellent.
