Whom will tourists believe?

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   On the 12th of January the embassy of Turkey in Moscow 12 released a statement regarding the outbreak of bird flu. It says that local authorities have taken all necessary measures to prevent the spread of the infection and that at the moment the situation is under control. Moreover, due to the fact that cases of human-to-human transmission of the virus have not been registered, trips to Turkey cannot be considered dangerous and there is no reason to cancel them.
   On the same day the Ministry of Foreign Affairs put out a statement for tourists planning trips abroad. It is strongly recommended to follow the advice of Chief Medical Sanitation Officer of Russian Federation, G. Onnischenko. His recommendations are published on www.gsen.ru. The day before the Head of Federal Tourism Agency signed a decree according to which all tour operators and travel agencies are obliged to inform their tourists traveling to Turkey about the situation in the country and about the necessity to follow sanitary norms set by health authorities.
   According to experts, the documents themselves will not change dramatically the situation at the travel market. Potential tourists are mainly influenced by mass media, especially television. More negative information will certainly affect the demand.