Pocono News Section

Mexican Advisory Has Travel Agents Busy

Mexican Advisory Has Travel Agents Busy - Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 6:00PM EST

Airline officials are hoping the swine flu doesn't cut into plane ticket sales. The International Airport Association says there's reason to worry.
Travel agent Mary Ruane's phone has been ringing off the hook at Master Travel in Wilkes-Barre. Ruane says they’ve been asking, "Is it safe, can we go, what do I need to do if we need to cancel?"

People traveling through her agency are worried about the swine flu. Most of her business is booking trips to Cancun and Cozumel, Mexico. "That's the big tourist area. Ok, that's where 99 percent of our clients are going. They're not really traveling, going west," says Ruane.

But despite more than 150 confirmed swine flu cases in that country, travelers are still heading south. "I've had no one cancel their travel plans right now, they're kind of listening to us, we're taking the feedback from the airlines and everything and precautions that are out there for people has been really positive," says Ruane.

Ruane says big airlines are allowing travelers to cancel flights to Mexico with no penalty. That's from April 30th until May 8th. "Some people have like $3,000 invested in a vacation, they don't want to lose it," says Ruane.

Between now and September, Master Travel has up to 50 vacations booked to Mexico. "We're taking every client on a day to day basis right now and you know, we don't want them nervous," says Ruane.

The U. S. State Department issued a travel alert Monday. It's recommending travelers postpone non-essential trips to Mexico for three months.