Travelling to exotic destinations is a favourite past time for many Australians.
Unfortunately, many exotic destinations Aussies travel to are known as at-risk, where they have a known risk of infectious diseases (and where vaccinations and other precautions are recommended).
Of the top 10 countries Australians are travelling to, 7 are considered at-risk. This includes Indonesia (which has experienced five times more Aussie arrivals over the last 10 years![i]), Thailand, Japan, India, China, Singapore and Fiji.ii
Travel agents can play an important role in providing travel health advice to Aussies ahead of their holiday. Travel health specialist Dr Sarah Chu shares four tips to help your customers holiday go off without a hitch.
Visit a doctor at least six weeks before
Travel insurance is great to have, but it won’t prevent people from getting sick.
Tip:
The best tip travel agents can give to their customers is to book an appointment with a GP or travel doctor six to eight weeks before departure. A GP or travel doctor can offer tailored travel advice and protective options on the spot, including some vaccines, or ones that might need a second appointment, so planning ahead matters.
Eating and drinking
It could be something as simple as an icy mai tai or Thai beef salad. Contaminated food and water can cause illnesses like Travellers’ diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid.[ii] And it doesn’t matter how people choose to dine – whether you’re recommending a 5-star hotel or street cart delights to your customers, contaminated food and water doesn’t discriminate.
Tip:
- Tell your customers to ensure that food is served and cooked hot
- Stick to bottled water only and avoid drinks with ice
- Steer clear of salads with raw fruit and vegetables
- Avoid raw or undercooked eggs, ice cream and unpasteurized dairy products
- While street stalls are a tempting part of the authentic holiday experience, tell travelers to be wary of food from street vendors. Some stalls don’t comply with safe and trustworthy health standards
Avoid mosquito bites
Being on holiday means spending time outdoors. To beat the heat and get that sun-kissed glow, it usually means a daily outfit of shorts, singlets and summer dresses.
The bad news is all that bare skin exposes people to UV rays and mozzies. In many of our favourite exotic holidays destinations mosquitos carry more than just an itchy bite – they can transmit malaria, dengue fever or Yellow fever.
Tip:
- Tell your customers to take care to avoid insect bites, including using an insect repellent at all times
- Wear long, loose fitting, light coloured clothing.[iii]
Thinking it won’t be you
It’s easy to think that we won’t get sick – particularly if people visited that country a number of times, or were born and raised there, or that we don’t have the time or money to get vaccinated. However, the hard fact is – there is a 50% chance we may suffer from a travel-related illnessii.
Tip:
For more travel advice specific to at-risk destinations, you can advise your customers to visit vaccinehub.com.au
[i] http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/products/961B6B53B87C130ACA2574030010BD05
[ii] Center for Disease Control, Food and water precautions http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2016/the-pre-travel-consultation/food-water-precautions
