Travel agents outline options

TRIPS CANCELLED:THE OUTBREAK of swine flu in Mexico has forced travel companies to cancel trips there or offer alternatives to customers. The Department of Foreign Affairs has recommended a ban on non-essential travel and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has also advised against all but essential travel to Mexico.

On foot of the recommendations, many tour operators have decided not to send people there.

Thomas Cook and Thomson holidays have cancelled all tours to Mexico. American Holidays and Tropical Places, which sell holidays to Mexico from Ireland, have also cancelled trips. They are offering customers the option of rescheduling their holiday or changing their destination.

A spokesman said there were no confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu among its customers in any resorts in which it operated. They had decided to contact customers already on holiday and offer them the option to fly home before their scheduled return date.

Cork-based company Caribbean Collection said it was offering revised dates or alternative destinations for customers booked to Mexico in the immediate future. Beacon South America, also in Cork, said it would follow Department of Foreign Affairs guidelines.

Dublin-based company Twohigs said it was offering customers alternative holidays or dates. However, a spokesman said some people who were booked to travel this week have opted to go despite the outbreak.

Meanwhile, Irish student Alan Dunne, who left Mexico City on Monday, said the capital was deserted. "All the chemists had run out of face masks and antibacterial hand wash by last Friday.

"On Friday and Saturday, about 80 per cent of places were closed in the city; by Sunday it was about 98 per cent."

An Erasmus student from UCD studying Spanish and film studies in New York, Mr Dunne had travelled to Mexico with a friend. "It took a couple of days to really sink in how bad the situation was," he said. He said there was also distrust of the Mexican government.

"People believe they are not giving the whole truth about the number of deaths; protecting the tourist industry is important to them," he said.

The atmosphere in the city was frightening and surreal, he added. "We camped out in the airport for most of the night just to get out of there; it didn't feel safe."