Fear of Zika stopping Americans from travelling to Olympics
Nearly half of Americans believe that the Olympic Games in Rio this summer should be cancelled or delayed, claims a recent survey by Allianz Global Assistance. It also states that 82 per cent have had their opinion impacted towards travelling to South America this summer because of the risks of the Zika virus.
The survey, which had 2,110 participants, reported that 34 per cent believe the Games should be delayed and 15 per cent want them cancelled to protect people from the virus. Even though there were many that believed they should still go ahead, 71 per cent would not be interested in travelling to the Games, Allianz said.
The virus was not the only factor that causes Americans to hesitate when making the decision to travel. Twenty-eight per cent were also worried about terror acts and 25 per cent were worried about other safety concerns. Cost was also still an issue, with 31 per cent being put off by the price of travelling to and attending the Games according to the survey.
Allianz believes there to be around 6,500 Americans still expected at the games, though those that have made the decision to travel will be staying for less time than those that went to the London 2012 Olympics. This statement is from other research that Allianz did into travel bookings. It claimed that the average trip length for this summer’s Olympics is 13 days, whereas during the 2012 Games, Americans stayed for an average of 26 days.
Daniel Durazo, director of communications at Allianz Global Assistance USA, stated: “Travellers are proceeding with caution by either completely disregarding travel to Brazil or by hyper focusing their trips to Rio without extending their stays past the Olympics. This is bad news for any host country that spends billions of dollars bringing in the games and expects to make the return from tourism."