Flu makes travelers uneasy but not panicky

Tom and Betsy Weston arrived in Mazatlan on Saturday, have seen no signs of swine flu save for a few restaurant workers with government-issued face masks, but they are debating whether they should leave Mexico early.

"We're trying to figure out the right thing to do," Tom, 59, of Pacific Palisades, Calif., said via phone Tuesday. "If the travel advisory was issued earlier, we probably wouldn't have gone."

It's too early to say whether swine flu will lead to an exodus of Mexican tourists or an epidemic of travel cancellations, following U.S. recommendations that citizens avoid non-essential travel there. But as of Tuesday, panic had not set in.

"Our call center is flooded, but not with people looking to leave Mexico early," says Gina Esch, a spokeswoman for Funjet Vacations, which has more than a thousand vacationers in Mexico. "It's more people with upcoming trips who have questions."

Early findings from 2,857 votes in a TripAdvisor survey posted Monday showed 61 percent of respondents wouldn't change travel plans because of swine flu; 24 percent would; 15 percent did not have travel plans.

However, fears have prompted travel providers to make changes:

American Airlines announced Tuesday that it would extend a cancel-without-penalty policy for Mexican trips through May 16. Passengers can get a refund, change destinations or postpone. United extended its deadline to May 15. Most other U.S. carriers had adopted a May 6 or May 8 end date, but may follow suit. Airlines reported calls from worried fliers; some rescheduled trips. But U.S. carriers kept flying to Mexico.

Major cruise lines, including Carnival — the largest operator to Mexico — have canceled upcoming calls to the country, in some cases indefinitely. A half-dozen cruise ships carrying about 11,000 passengers — mostly North Americans — didn't call at Mexican ports as scheduled Tuesday.

United Kingdom travel provider Thomas Cook canceled departures to Cancun for the next week, after a British Foreign & Commonwealth Office bulletin suggesting visitors "consider whether they should remain in Mexico at this time."

Hotel chains including Marriott, InterContinental and Starwood are among those waiving fees for those due to arrive soon. Cancellations have been light and mostly requested by Mexican travelers to swine-flu center Mexico City, a Starwood statement said. Marriott International is letting guests at its Mexico hotels cancel or leave early without penalty, says spokesman John Wolf.