Tour operators about coxsackievirus: ''People go to Turkey on their own risk''
The participants of the tourist market have concluded that after the information about the insecurity of stay in Turkey Russians are in no hurry to cancel trips all inclusive
An alleged epidemic of coxsackievirus is being discussed in Russia. Because of the virus, Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) has recognised Turkey as an unsafe country to visit. Because of the epidemic tourists can cancel their tour all inclusive without a penalty, but they are in no hurry to do it — Kazan tour operators state that they have not received claims for return a trip cost. Besides, they suggested told their versions of the reasons for such an active anti-advertising of Turkey resorts and what to do to not get infected by the mysterious virus. Read the details in the material of Realnoe Vremya.
From Turkey with coxsackievirus
Already for several weeks the Russians have been discussing a disease that people supposedly bring en masse from the long-awaited Turkish all inclusive.
The Turkish authorities have denied reports about the epidemic, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova stated that according to monitoring data, in Russia and Turkey there is no aggravation of the situation with coxsackievirus. But a few days later, Rospotrebnadzor reported on a threat to the security of health of tourists. A corresponding notification has been sent and received by the Federal Agency for tourism.
According to the service, at a specially created hotline they received more than 500 complaints of deterioration of health at Turkish resorts. The cases were recorded in the hotels of Side, Alanya, Belek, Kemer, Antalya and others, and most of the cases were children under 14. On the same day, August 11, in response to the notice of Rospotrebnadzor, the Federal Tourism Agency issued a statement, according to which Rospotrebnadzor concluded, consistent with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, about the arisen in Turkey threat to the security of health of tourists. At the same time, the situation does not require an emergency evacuation of Russians. However, in this regard, customers of the travel agencies are allowed to request or change a date or direction of a trip or its cancellation, without deduction of expenses by a contractor.
The next day, on 12 August, the website of Rospotrebnadzor reported that on the request of the service, the Department of national health of the Ministry of health of Turkey on epidemiological situation in Antalya province reported that since July this year in the clinics and hospitals of the province there applied 348 people with different symptoms.
All talk and no infected
The Association of tour operators of Russia reported that on Saturday at the initiative of the office of Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko it was held an emergency meeting of industry participants, among which there was the all-Russian Union of insurers. If the flow of information on coxsackievirus on television and in other media was significant, in reality, according to the insurers, the share of applicants to the insurance companies of the Russian tourists who have been diagnosed with coxsackievirus is not more than 0,01% of the total number of tourists from Russia.
Tour operators across Russia have concluded that even amid all the reports about the insecurity of Turkey, they record a small percentage of trip cancellation. A similar situation is being observed in Tatarstan. CEO of Companion SP Sergey Pasechnik says that his company has received no complaints in connection with disease. SKYLAND Travel claims the same.
CEO of the company STEN Leonid Press also states that in response to recent news about coxsackievirus they have not received complaints from tourists. However, the speaker predicts that the situation may affect future booking of this destination. According to him, in case of refusal from Turkey, people will prefer to stay home in their holiday, as there is simply no competitor by cost in the Russian market. Vitaly Kolgin says that at the end of the summer season most tourists have already purchased tours, and even in connection with information about the epidemic of coxsackievirus they are unlikely to change anything. ''Nobody wants to change something. Therefore, probably, they will go at their own risk.'' He is agree with Leonid Press that Turkey has no competitors in terms of price.
If Sergey Pasechnik agrees with one of the opinions about the reasons for such an active anti-advertising of Turkish resorts this summer — a fall in tourist flow to Russian resorts, and he does not exclude that in connection with this, a certain percentage of tourists who travelled to Turkey will really abandon this direction and will go to Crimea or Sochi, Vitaly Kalgin says that, when the first information about the virus appeared, the official reaction to this was not followed.
''It happened after the hype in the media started. Rostourism informed that in the case if a tourist wants to return a trip cost it must be done without any penalties, and it is necessary to inform tourists that there is a risk of the disease before a trip. Before the hype, Rosturizm did nothing like that, so I doubt that it was made specifically for the promotion of Russian resorts,'' said Director General of SKYLAND Travel.
He explains such a high media interest in Turkey this year by the return of the two countries to friendly relations and now the Russians have become more responsive to what is happening in the Eastern country. For example, earthquakes, which began to appear in the media, according to him, had been before. As well as enteroviral diseases, outbreak of which is difficult to predict in advance.
Leonid Press believes that there is no epidemic of coxsackie in Turkey, a similar situation is observed every year in tropical countries and it is not critical. People call the enteroviral diseases simply as ''diseases of dirty hands''.
He reminds you that if one follows the rules of personal hygiene, the chances of catching an infection are minimal. The interlocutor of the edition assumed that the active anti-advertisement of the Turkish resorts is not connected with the attempt to attract tourists to Russian resorts but with difficulties in the Russian-Turkish relations. According to him, thus the Russian authorities make it clear that Turkey can easily lose tourists from Russia.