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Weekly UpdatesLarge, medium or small--when it comes to birds--Alaska has more than its share of wild fowl. From little sparrows to the majestic eagle, the state is home--if only on a temporary basis--to hundreds of thousands of birds every year. While the far north's bird population may have played a small role in the state's high tourism numbers in the past, Alaska's feathered friends may be promoted to leading roles on the world stage if the Avian Flu decides to pay a call to The Last Frontier. But so far, the tweeters-even the ones that fly over from Asia to enjoy the Alaska summer--have not exhibited any signs of being sick and the state's tourism sector is enjoying what many believe will be a record-setting season.
"Business is back and better than before 9/11," said Yoshi Ogawa, president of International Travel Consultants. "Despite the highest international fares that I have ever seen and the fact that we're in a state of war, people are traveling--even more than last year.
"As for the avian flu, it doesn't even come up in conversation," added Ogawa. "A few years ago with the SARS scare, people wouldn't go to the region affected or even the surrounding countries. The impact of SARS on the international travel trade may have been more significant than 9/11. But the fear factor is not present today like it was after 9/11, the SARS outbreak in Asia, or the beginning of the invasion in Iraq."
A native of Japan, Ogawa worked in the airline industry for close to a decade and a half before he established the Anchorage-based International Travel Consultants in 1988. The company is currently Alaska's sole consolidator for Scandinavian Airlines and Japan Airlines and has relationships with other major international carriers.
"Without an actual outbreak, the avian flu is a non-factor when it comes to tourism," said Ogawa.
While the avian flu (also known as H5N1) may not be on the radar screen for travelers at the moment, federal, state and local agencies are preparing for the possibility of an outbreak. From legislative briefings to interagency taskforces, the government--fresh from Hurricane Katrina's devastating wake that woke up the nation to the reality of its emergency preparedness plans--is attempting to educate the public in the event that the virus does appear in Alaska.
To date, H5NI has not appeared anywhere in the United States. The recent concern about this particular flu strain lies in the fact that if the virus mutates, it may become more easily transmitted among people. If that does occur, it could turn into a pandemic (a rapid--and possibly deadly--global spread of the virus).
In recent years, the avian flu has primarily infected birds. So far, there have been 204 worldwide recorded cases of H5N1 in humans with 113 deaths. Since birds from affected areas migrate to Alaska for the summer, there was a heightened awareness about the matter for the past several months.
"Right now, it's an info-demic," said Ron Peck, president and CEO of the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA)--the marketing and trade association that represents more than P 1,000 tourism and travel-related business throughout the state. "That being said, we're doing everything we can to let our members know how to deal with communicable diseases. We're certainly not ignoring the possibility, but we're putting our energy on this issue into preparing our membership to deal with visitors and employees if something should occur."
To that end, ATIA has briefed its membership about the issue as well as distributing information culled from various international government agencies and public health officials.
"We-as a tourism trade association-are concerned about communicable diseases, both large and small and on land or on a cruise ship," said ATIA's Communications Director Dave Worrell. "We want to make sure that our members are knowledgeable and informed.
"Regarding the avian flu, I'd like to say that first and foremost that Alaska doesn't have a lot of domesticated birds, which is how the flu spread in Asia," added Worrell. "The majority of our birds are wild, and Alaskans and tourists are not in contact with them or their droppings.
"Even if you're on a bird-watching tour, you're not in contact with the wildlife. It's illegal, and touching or bothering a bird is the last thing that bird watchers would want to do," continued Worrell.
Even with information circling the globe about this issue, ATIA's Peck and Worrell agree with International Travel Consultant's Ogawa that this summer's tourism season may be even stronger that last year.
"Our advances were strong and we've heard from all types of businesses from large and small independents to organized land tour operators and they're saying that the numbers are up," said Peck. "Along with that we have several other good indicators, including information from the airports and cruise ship companies that business is strong."
Princess Tours Director of Shore Operations Kirby Day also agrees that the avian flu is not a factor when people are planning a trip to Alaska.
"We're aware of it and the company is taking precautions to be prepared in the event of a breakout, but I don't think there has been any fallout from this issue," said Day from his office in Juneau. "The average Joe Public isn't talking about it."
Bird Flu Resources
For more information about the avian flu, please visit the following Web sites:
U.S. Federal Government's Official Site
www.pandemicfiu.gov
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm
World Health Organization
www.who.int/csr/disease/avian influenza/en
Alaska Division of Public Health
www.epi.alaska.gov/id/influenza/fluinfo.htm
State of Alaska's Web Page
www.pandemicflu.alaska.gov
U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center
Alaska/usgs.gov/science/biology/avian_influenza
--Adapted from the 4/25/06 edition of the Anchorage Daily News
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