Despite concerns for wider Orlando, Disney has said the zika virus isn’t effecting its business in Florida, with “no real impact on cancellations or future bookings.”
A recent 5,000-person survey by consumer polling firm CivicScience said that around half of respondents planning trips to the area (1,600 people) had cancelled their trip or decided not to visit Disney World due to zika fears.
Disney, responding to Rich Greenfield – an analyst for global equity firm BTIG LLC who said that zika may be causing vacationers to reconsider plans to visit resorts including Disney parks in Orlando – reiterated the comments of CEO Bob Iger, that there was no major change, though there had been a market-to-market shift in traditionally strong areas such as Brazil.
In an effort to alleviate visitor concerns, Disney has been handing out free mosquito repellent in its Orlando parks and hotels since 28 August.
Zika is spreading rapidly through both South America and North America, with 3,176 cases in the US. Of those however, only 71 people have contracted the virus from mosquitoes in the US, with health officials tracing most of those to two areas in Miami.
There is no treatment or vaccine to prevent zika, which generally produces mild symptoms such as headache, fever and red eyes, and 80 per cent of healthy people infected suffer no symptoms. The virus can have terrible implications for pregnant women however, leading to brain defects in unborn babies.
