Ebola impacts tourism business
JOBURG - Misconceptions about ebola could have a negative impact on travel and tourism.
This was according to tourism group Tourvest, which has expressed concerns about reports by the media and tourism marketing bodies that fears of contracting ebola were prompting tourists to cancel their trips to southern Africa.
“Tourist arrivals to South Africa have been on a steady upward trajectory and we would hate to see that trend reverse because of misconceptions about a disease located at its closest approximately 4 500km away from South Africa,” said Tourvest’s COO Judi Nwokedi.
The outbreak began in south eastern Guinea in March, and had since spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
According to the World Health Organisation, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea had recorded the vast majority of cases.
However, Nwokedi said people should appreciate just how large Africa actually was.
“You could fit Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, the United kingdom, India, China and Japan in its borders. So what happens in West Africa, particularly in its rural areas, is really far removed from the rest of the continent,” she said.
Despite its high mortality rate, ebola was not an airborne disease.
The deadly disease could only be transmitted through direct contact between mucous membranes or broken skin and the bodily fluids of a symptomatic patient.
South Africa’s position of screening arrivals from affected countries and limiting incoming flights from these countries was sufficient, given that these complied with the protocols and recommendations of the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, Nwokedi said.
To date, there were no confirmed cases of ebola in South Africa.
However, in August a South African man that returned from Liberia was tested for ebola at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in Parktown.
His results came back negative.
Travellers concerned about their trips to South Africa were urged to visit the websites of the Department of Health (www.health.gov.za) or the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (www.dfa.gov.za) for more information.
