Spring break is at hand, but it’s not just about the beach. Cities are just as popular for some travelers, and don’t forget about spring skiing. And evidence is mixed on whether Zika is affecting tourism in the Caribbean. Here are some details:
Zika impact
Just back from the Dominican Republic, Orly Benaroch Light says nobody seemed worried about Zika. “The resort that hosted our conference was jam-packed with families, couples, honeymooners, destination weddings and our conference,” said Light, president of MCE Conferences, which organizes continuing medical education conferences.
But Jared Kamrowski, whose new site, ThriftyTraveler.com, lists daily flight deals, said he believes Zika is impacting prices, with tickets for places such as San Juan, Puerto Rico, as low as $180 round-trip from New York. “Almost everyone I know who has a baby on the way was able to reschedule their vacation to other locations” outside of Zika zones, said Kamrowski, who added that he “visited Puerto Vallarta earlier this month and didn’t see a single mosquito. Spring break season is a relatively dry time of year for most of the Zika zone so the fears are largely overblown.”
Data is mixed on hotel and airline bookings.
ForwardKeys, which monitors travel patterns by analyzing reservation transactions, said flight bookings to Zika-affected areas have fallen by 3.4 percent since Jan. 15 and by 10 percent in early February.
