Travel Safety Update - Latin America / Caribbean.

May 24, 2009

Brazil

At a special session of the Global Travel & Tourism Summit, held in Florianpolis, Brazil, from May 14 to 16 panelists agreed that, while the epidemic of the influenza virus A (H1N1) -- commonly known as swine flu -- had so far been relatively mild outside Mexico, its possible return in mutated form in the northern hemisphere winter remains a serious cause for concern. The World Health Organization (WHO) is not recommending travel restrictions, because it believes that limiting travel and imposing travel restrictions would have very little effect on stopping the spread of the virus, but would be highly disruptive to the global community. www.wttc.org or www.globaltraveltourism.com May 21, 2009

Embraer

Actuators used to move the wing slats on Embraer 170s have been redesigned as a consequence of a fault discovered by airline operators in Australia and overseas. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says in a statement that since the fault has been discovered the slat actuator manufacturer has initiated a redesign of the actuator "to reduce torque trip and limiter engagement". Meanwhile, "the aircraft manufacturer has issued a new fault isolation task to address the fault and stop recurrence, it says. May 21, 2009

Mexico

Fears of contracting H1N1 flu virus have emptied the beaches, restaurants and nightclubs of Mexico's main tourist destinations, hobbling a key industry just as a severe recession is gripping the country. Mexico's tourism sector has weathered fierce hurricanes and raging drug gang battles, but the H1N1 outbreak could spur the biggest collapse in international visits in decades. Tourism Minister Rodolfo Elizondo says it could take until December for the flow of foreign tourists to recover, wiping out the key summer season when millions of Americans and Europeans traditionally escape to Mexican beaches. Travel alerts by countries such as the United States, Britain and Canada -- lifted in recent days -- drove many foreigners to cancel trips to Mexico. Airlines have reduced flights to beach resorts like Cancun, leaving hotels mostly empty and putting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the hotel and restaurant sectors at risk. Mexico is considered the epicenter of a flu outbreak that has spread to dozens of countries. Initial cases were linked to visits to Mexico, one of the world's top 10 tourist destinations. The drop in tourism will be sorely felt as a drop in US demand for Mexican manufactured goods has pushed Mexico into its most severe recession since a 1995 financial crisis. Tourism is one of Mexico's top sources of foreign currency, accounting for about 8 percent of the economy. The sector employs about 2 million people across the country. As the government moved to shut down much of public life in late April and early May, foreign tourists rushed to leave and international flights into Mexico arrived almost empty. May 20, 2009

Mexico

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has revised its advice on Mexico, saying it no longer warns against "all but essential travel." The change comes after a decline in the number of people catching swine flu since its peak on April 26. The FCO said the World Health Organisation's Pandemic Threat Alert still remains at level 5. It also still reminds potential travellers of the Mexican Secretariat of Health's advice to avoid large crowds, shaking hands and kissing people as a greeting. www.fco.gov.uk May 18, 2009

ZZ AirGuide 090525

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