No chicken for tourists: Vietnam
HANOI- Chicken is off the menu for foreign visitors to Vietnam and tour operators should also steer clear of any spots where bird flu outbreaks have occurred in poultry, the government has decreed. The National Tourism Administration issued the measures, with immediate effect, to protect tourists from bird flu, which has killed 42 people in Vietnam since late 2003 and has spread to 16 of the country's 64 provinces.
The administration this week ordered hotels and restaurants to remove all poultry dishes from menus for foreign tourists and to issue regular updates on outbreaks of the H5N1 virus to allay visitors' fears.
The industry watchdog advised tour operators not to take tourists near areas that have bird flu outbreaks. Almost all of the affected provinces are in northern Vietnam and include Quang Ninh, home to
UNESCO World Heritage site Halong Bay.
Vietnam has become a popular site for tour groups from Europe and the United States and so far bird flu has not affected businesses, tour operators said on Wednesday.
"Unlike
SARS and previous flu outbreaks, this time we have not seen any decline in our bookings yet. In fact, we are struggling to meet demand but of course we are also taking necessary precautions," said Hoang Anh Tuan, director of ATC Travel in Hanoi.
The government estimates that foreign tourist arrivals during the first 11 months of this year soared 18.8 percent from a year earlier to 3.14 million.
Reuters - November 23, 2005.
Vietnam reports another bird flu case, tourists banned from infected areas
Vietnam reported another human bird flu case Thursday, while tour operators were ordered to keep foreigners away from areas infected by the disease.
A 15-year-old boy from northern port city of Haiphong is the latest person to test positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus, the Ministry of Health said on its Web site.
The boy remains hospitalized but was expected to fully recover, said Nguyen Van Binh, deputy director of the Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department.
As the country tightens its vigilance against the disease, the Tourism Administration of Vietnam ordered all tour operators not to take foreigners near areas where bird flu outbreaks have been reported, said Vu The Binh, director of the central Tourism Department.
"Our policy is to ensure absolute safety for foreign tourists," he said "We cannot tolerate having foreign tourists infected with bird flu in Vietnam."
Most major hotels and restaurants have also stopped serving poultry. However, tourism authorities have not banned such sales. Officials have instead advised venues to serve only poultry products approved by animal health authorities, Binh said.
He said bird flu has not yet had any impact on the country's tourism industry with 3 million foreign arrivals so far this year as of November 11. The number is expected to reach 3.4 million by the end of this year, he added. Last year, 2.9 million foreign arrivals were logged.
Bird flu outbreaks have been reported in 18 provinces in Vietnam since early October, killing or forcing the slaughter of more than 1 million birds, according to the Department of Animal Health.
At least 67 human deaths have been confirmed in Asia since bird flu began ravaging poultry stocks in 2003. The bulk of those deaths have occurred in Vietnam.
The Associated Press - November 24, 2005.
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