New Study Released on Travelers’ Health Concerns

April 19, 2005

New Study Released on Travelers’ Health Concerns
April 19, 2005 – The American Society of Travel Agents released a survey this week on travelers’ health concerns. According to the survey, 56 percent of U.S. travelers plan their itinerary for their vacation while just 19 percent seek travel health advice from a healthcare professional prior to departure. Of these survey respondents, 69 percent agree that safety and health are major considerations when choosing an international travel destination.

ASTA surveyed more than 1,200 U.S. adult travelers to learn more about their travel preparations for outside their home country. ASTA is launching a national campaign to educate vacationers and business travelers heading overseas about important pre-travel measures to stay healthy abroad. The campaign and survey were funded in part by GlaxoSmithKline.

"As travel agents, our job involves more than just booking the best trip possible," said Kathy Sudeikis, ASTA President and CEO. "We also educate travelers about potential health risks and measures they can take to stay healthy while overseas. I encourage those planning to travel abroad to log on to www.travelsafely.com for tips on how to prepare for a safe and healthy trip."

According to the ASTA survey, many U.S. travelers don’t know which countries carry which disease risks. Forty percent of respondents said that they are not sure where malaria can be found, 52 percent are not sure about hepatitis A and 51 percent are not sure where hepatitis B can be found. Further, many respondents said that they were also unaware that diseases such as malaria and hepatitis can be contracted in many popular destinations. To read the survey results and learn more about the health risks abroad, click here.