American Travelers Largely Unfazed by Zika - According to Travel Leaders Group's New Survey

Travel Leaders Group surveyed more than 3,400 American travelers and over 96% said the Zika virus has not impacted travel plans.

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Travel Leaders Group

May 04, 2016, 10:34 ET

PLYMOUTH, Minn., May 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Travel Leaders Group released new survey findings on the Zika virus and American travelers. Among survey participants, 87.1% have heard of the Zika virus – and nearly all (96.1%) of those individuals indicated that the Zika virus has not impacted their travel plans this year. The survey was conducted April 4 to April 30, 2016, and includes responses from 3,431 consumers throughout the United States.

"Clearly, many American travelers are informed about Zika, whether from the news media, the CDC or from the conversations our travel agents are having with them on a daily basis," stated Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko. "According to the CDC, most people infected with Zika virus won't even know it, because they won't have symptoms. Nevertheless, we always make it a priority to inform and advocate for our clients, as their safety is always our top priority. What this consumer survey data indicates to us is that Americans are fairly well-educated on Zika and are moving forward with their travel plans."

Key Findings:

Heard of Zika: When asked, "Have you heard of Zika?" 87.1% of survey respondents said "Yes."
- Know What Zika Is: Of those individuals, when asked "Do you know what Zika is?" 97.4% stated "Yes, I know what Zika is" and 2.3% indicated "Maybe."
Zika Impact on Travel Plans: Nearly all travelers surveyed said that the Zika virus has not impacted their travel plans.

No, not at all	96.1%
Yes, I altered my travel plans – new destination	2.4%
Yes, I delayed a trip	0.9%
Yes, I canceled a trip	0.6%

Travel to Countries with Zika Virus:
- Interestingly, when asked, "Have you traveled to a country with confirmed cases of Zika this year?" only 21.2% of those surveyed said "Yes."
- As for future travel plans and whether or not individuals participating in the survey will travel to a country with confirmed cases of Zika this year, the responses were:

Yes	23.2%
No	30.9%
No, but I had no intention of going to those countries anyway	29.3%
I don't know	16.6%

In February 2016, Travel Leaders Group conducted a special survey of its travel agents. At that time:

Travelers in their 20s and 30s: 74.1% of travel agents stated "none" of their clients in their 20s and 30s were cancelling (and not rebooking) their travel plans due to the Zika virus.
Travelers in their 40s and 50s: As for clients in their 40s and 50s, 89.8% of travel agents stated "none" were cancelling (and not rebooking) their travel plans due to the Zika virus.
Travelers 60 and Older: The percentage for clients 60 years or older was even higher. According to that survey data, 93.0% stated "none" of their clients in that age range were cancelling (and not rebooking) their travel plans due to the Zika virus.

Through the years, Travel Leaders Group has built a reputation for gathering extensive travel trends data from its vast network of travel agents and more recently from American consumers and travelers. This is the 8th consecutive year for the consumer travel survey. American consumers were engaged through social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as through direct contact with travel clients for the following Travel Leaders Group companies including the flagship Travel Leaders brand, as well as All Aboard Travel, Cruise Specialists, Nexion, Protravel International, Results! Travel, SinglesCruise.com, Tzell Travel Group and Vacation.com units.

With annual sales approaching $21 billion, Travel Leaders Group is the largest traditional travel agency company in North America, comprised of approximately 30% of all travel agencies in North America that are wholly-owned, franchised, or member agencies. It's a leader in both the retail travel agency space and corporate travel, and consistently ranks as one of the top travel companies nationwide.

About Travel Leaders Group

Travel Leaders Group (www.travelleadersgroup.com) is transforming travel with a commitment to our vacation and business travel clients via our progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers – through our beginnings as Carlson Leisure Group, a division of Carlson Companies, TraveLeaders and Tzell Travel Group and through the additions of Nexion, Vacation.com and Protravel International – Travel Leaders Group manages leisure, business and franchise travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands. With annual sales of approaching $21 billion through over 6,500 locations, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry's largest traditional travel agency companies.