Reducing the Health Risks Associated with Travel

Abstract

All travel has associated health risks that need to be recognized not only by travellers, but also by tour operators and governments. In this context, the author considers some of the infections that have been contracted by package holiday tourists from the UK. With 15 million package holidays sold in the UK each year and increasing consumer concern about health risks, health is now a major factor in customer satisfaction. Media exposure and possible legal action when expectations are not met mean that the need to reduce the health risks associated with travel is crucial for the tourism industry as well as for travellers themselves. This paper sets out the main hazards and risks and examines what actions can and should be taken by tour operators, destination countries, and tourists. The author stresses the importance of ensuring a proper health infrastructure in the development of tourist areas; the need for operators to stipulate minimum hotel standards, backed up by regular auditing; the responsibility of tourists to ensure that they do not expose themselves to unnecessary risks; and the significance of surveillance systems in the control of travel-related diseases.

Determining the Sustainability Factors and Performance of a Tourism Destination from the Stakeholders’ Perspective

“…The security is another basic factor in a destination's competitiveness, and Gran Canaria has a high level in terms of health, physical, and legal security because it belongs to the European Union. This factor aligns with what was proposed by different authors such as Cartwright [82], Page and Meyer [83], Baker et al [85], and Tarlow [89].…”

“…Fifth, as the security of the destination is one of the most important aspects in tourists' decision-making process, three variables were included in the study. The first is the "sustainability of health", which deals with the physical health risk the tourist accepts when deciding on a destination [82][83][84]. The second variable is security in terms of delinquency [85][86][87][88][89], and the third is the risk of war, politic instability, or legal security, measured by the variable "sustainability of belonging to Europe".…”

Tourism Risk and Uncertainty

“…Another form of intermediation, mentioned previously, is the services provided by insurance companies. Tourism firms routinely utilize liability insurance especially because of “media exposure and possible legal action when expectations are not met” (Cartwright 2000, p. 159). They also purchase property, aviation and marine, worker compensation, and contingent business interruption insurance.…”

“…Risk has been acknowledged, of course, in tourism studies, and there has been growing interest in the risks associated with various forms of disasters (Sönmez and Graefe 1998), and with health risks whether for the individual tourist or the liabilities of the tourism service providers (Cartwright 2000). There is also increased interest in “risk-seeking,” or at least “risk-tolerant,” adventure tourism (Swarbrooke et al 2003), as the numbers of high-risk takers seem to increase in tourism (Cater 2006).…”

Safety and Security Issues Affecting Inbound Tourism in the People's Republic of China

“…Tourism literature is now turning its attention to matters of safety and security, which were classified among the ten most important world tourism issues for 2004. Previous research has pointed out four major risk factors: crime (de Albuquerque and McElroy, 1999;Alleyne and Boxill, 2003;Barker, Page, and Meyer, 2002;Barker, Page, and Meyer, 2003;Brunt, Mawby, and Hambly, 2000;Dimanche and Lepetic, 1999;George, 2003;Lepp and Gibson, 2003;Levantis and Gani, 2000;Lindqvist and Björk, 2000;Mawby, 2000;Roehl and Fesenmaker, 1992); health-related risks (Cartwright, 2000;MacLaurin, 2001;MacLaurin, MacLaurin, and Loi, 2000); terrorism (Coshall, 2003;Kuto and Groves, 2004;Leslie, 1999;Pizam and Fleischer, 2002;Pizam and Smith, 2000;Sönmez, 1998;Sönmez, Apostolopoulos, and Tarlow, 1999;Sönmez and Graefe, 1998;Tarlow, 2003); and war and political instability (Ioannides and Apostolopoulos, 1999;Neumayer, 2004;Richter, 1999;Weaver, 2000). Concern for crime and safety, whether real or perceived, has been clearly identified as adversely affecting tourism behavior, influencing destination choice and experience satisfaction.…”