Irish people are stalling on holiday bookings as coronavirus spreads to several European countries, but travel agents say they have yet to see an outbreak of panic. Dominic Burke, chief executive of Travel Centres, the Republic’s biggest consortium of travel agents, said on Tuesday that holidaymakers are asking if they should hold off on making plans or should cancel if they have already booked. “What travel agents are saying is that if your travel date is some way in the future, don’t do anything rash as you run the risk of losing your money if you have paid a deposit,” he said. The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA)warned that holidaymakers should follow Department of Foreign Affairs advice and to be pragmatic about vacation bookings. He acknowledged that the industry faced an uncertain period while efforts to track and contain the coronavirus continued.

Source: The Irish Times February 25, 2020 20:48 UTC