Zika Virus Outbreak a Threat to Brazil's 2016 Rio Olympics Tourism?

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Tourism in Latin America has greatly been affected after the spread of the Zika virus. Unfortunately, the mosquito-borne disease arrived six months just before the 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.

Euro News reported that just like other affected Latin America countries, Brazil is also facing the spread of the Zika virus. The government has advised that the best way to fight the disease is through prevention, which will greatly affect the tourism in the country for the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympics in Brazil.

The Zika virus has been linked to birth defects in many babies, so pregnant women are advised to stay away from places that are affected by the virus. The World Health Organization has already declared Zika as an international health emergency that could affect millions of people.

This outbreak has raised concern among the committee that is organizing that Rio Olympics. Apart from the travel guidelines that have been released by the WHO, the committee said that there is no risk to the athletes as well as the audience, except for the pregnant women. The Olympics committee also said that they have not seen cancellations of travel to the Olympics although airlines are offering refunds to pregnant women who initially planned to go to any of the Zika affected countries.

Aside from the Rio Olympics, the Rio Carnival will most likely be affected, too. Brazil will definitely need the money it could get from tourism, BBC reported. Unfortunately for Brazil, the virus has come at a time when the country is in deep recession, with increasing unemployment and corruption scandals.

The Caribbean Tourism Organization as well as the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association have reported cancellation of trips to the Caribbean because of Zika. The cruise ship industry will be highly affected since their target markets are honeymooners and young couples who might get pregnant while they are on holiday.

Additionally, some travellers with the purpose of destination weddings are also affected by the rapid virus spread. According to Detroit News, some couples who originally planned to have their weddings in Mexico had to cancel their destination weddings because the women are pregnant.

In the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, they released travel advisory and warnings regarding affected countries like Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Venezuela, Guyana, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Barbados, Dominican Republic and many more.

To keep updated about news and other developments about the Zika virus, visit https://www.cdc.gov/zika/.