At the dawn of fall 2016, Zika continues to be on the minds of American travelers, and Zika-affected areas are seeing their tourist numbers affected.
A recent study by our friends at Allianz Global Assistance revealed that Florida, always a popular winter destination, will be particularly hard-hit by Zika fears. The number of travelers planning to fly to Florida this fall/winter (based on bookings in August) is down 14.8% compared to the number recorded for the same period last year. The damage is expected to be concentrated in Miami and Tampa, where locally transmitted Zika has been very public. The Allianz data shows a 29% drop in planned travelers to Miami, with a smaller (but significant) 12.4% drop in planned travel spread across the rest of the state. See the data above for more.
“The publicity surrounding the discovery of locally-transmitted Zika virus cases in South Florida has had an immediate and dramatic impact on the intent of travelers to book vacations to Florida during the peak travel season,” said Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA.
The results come in the wake of the CDC’s August 1 travel advisory concerning travel to the Miami Wynwood neighborhood, and then an August 19 update that included a larger chunk of the city. Here’s the CDC’s most recent advisory, which was issued on September 17.
Disclaimer: Johnny Jet works as an ambassador for Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Company) and receives financial compensation.
For more information about Allianz Global, visit AllianzTravelInsurance.com.
