The Wildcard: Will Swine Flu Keep Families Home?

To submit a news item send an email to press@mountainnews.com.

The Industry Report is published by Mountain News Corp., which also publishes OnTheSnow.com

Editor-In-Chief:
- Craig Altschul

Executive Editor:
- Roger Leo

President & Publisher:
- Rob Brown

Managing Director:
- Chad Dyer

Advertising Information:
- sales@mountainnews.com

Subscriptions:

-	Subscribe To Industry Report
-
-	What is RSS?

Archives:
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008

Recent Posts:

-	Destination Outlook: 'A Socially Embedded Frugality'
-	'Drive To' Outlook: Half Full Or Half Empty?
-	Economic Outlook: Cloudy, But Periods Of Sunshine
-	Weather Outlook: 'Oh, My'
-	OnTheSnow.com Visitors Outlook: 'We'll Ski, Ride More'
-	The Wildcard: Will Swine Flu Keep Families Home?
-	The 'New' Industry Report
-	SPONSOR: Reach UK Skiers, Riders At Birmingham Ski And Board Show
-	Innsbruck: Selling A Safari In A City That Sells Itself
-	The Good Old Summer Time That Wasn't; But, Was It Habit Forming?

« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story »

The Wildcard: Will Swine Flu Keep Families Home?

By Admin
September 21, 2009

The wrinkle in the season may be H1N1, or the so-called Swine Flu. How soon it plays out, how widespread it gets or, perhaps, the timing of its peak, will determine if it becomes the joker in our season's deck. A peak of this easily transmitted flu among school-age population the last two weeks in December, for example, could send the global mountain resort industry to the ER.

Young people (including college students), pregnant women, and the elderly appear to be the bug's prime target, and obviously, young people and their keepers are our prime market. The flu can be deadly but, in most cases, it is not unusually severe. Health officials say it is highly contagious, however.

Swine flu first cropped up last year and has been ringing alarm bells ever since. The severity of the virus is debatable (easy to say until our own sneezing begins).

"It's basically flu," Diane Lebel, a New England physician, told The Industry Report last week. "It's not some magic new flu, but it hasn't been around in a long time, and there's no natural immunity, so people can catch it more easily. It's a seasonal flu, no more dangerous than normal seasonal flu, it's just a kind we haven't seen in awhile."

She offers the same preventive suggestions that we've all heard. "Take normal precautions," Dr. Lebel said. "Wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face, and if you're really worried, stay away from crowds." That probably suggests resorts, lodging properties, and restaurants should make sure there are plenty of hand sanitizers around and that as many staff as possible get inoculated.

Britain's National Health Service suggests that restrictions on travel would have little or no effect on halting the spread of H121, since it is already present in most countries. The NHS advises people to stay home if they have flu, but not otherwise.

Some 50 million doses of swine flu vaccine already are being distributed to hospitals in the United States, for injections beginning in mid-October to those considered most vulnerable. More is reportedly on the way.

« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story »

Email To A Friend