Although government officials and travel experts warn that the H5N1 avian flu virus that has killed more than 60 people in Asia thus far could soon develop into a deadly worldwide outbreak, meeting planners who do business in Asia remain nonchalant.
"We're holding a meeting next February in Bangkok, Thailand, and expecting 9,000 attendees from 30 different countries," said Jody Egel, meeting coordinator for the Million Dollar Round Table, a Park Ridge, Ill.-based professional association of top salespeople in insurance and financial services that holds meetings regularly in Asia.
"Some attendees have expressed concern, and our answer is that unless the World Health Organization issues a travel advisory, we are holding the meeting as scheduled."
What would she do in the event of such an advisory?
"I'm not really sure. I don't know if we have a definite plan. I don't think it is as big a deal as the media are making it seem."
In the same vein, Kam Junejo, president and CEO of Houston-based Adagio Conventions Group, which specializes in meetings in Asia, told MeetingNews, "I think the media have been creating more of an issue about this than the people. Nobody's worried about traveling to the Far East."
But some experts warn that planners should be better prepared.
"The potential to affect meetings is pretty high," said Tyra Hilliard, an attorney and associate professor in the tourism and convention department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who specializes in risk management.
"WHO and other health groups are terrified by this," she said. "Just the perception of risk will make people afraid to travel to Asia, and at the very least they're going to be asking planners about it."
Rick Werth, director of corporate security, safety, and crisis management for Wells' Dairy Inc., in LeMars, Iowa, and a long-time meetings security expert, agreed.
"You can't afford to ignore avian flu," he said. "If you have people traveling to Asia or the affected parts of Europe, how do you prepare them? What are the risks?"
At Wells' Dairy, noted Werth, any employee who travels overseas for business or leisure is advised by the company's crisis management team about the risks of the destination. The company also suggests backup measures, such as travel insurance, which may cover expenses if a trip is canceled because of a travel advisory.
Werth advises companies with employees who travel internationally to have an evacuation plan in place.
Planners also should make sure the force majeure clauses in their meetings contracts state that they can terminate contracts without liability if the Centers for Disease Control, the WHO, or the State Department issue travel advisories, said Hilliard.
In 2003, the American Association of Cancer Research struggled with an inadequate force majeure clause after canceling a meeting in Toronto because of SARS.
However, Vickie Kress, director of event management for SoftBrands, a Minneapolis-based software design firm, said she found hotels in China "very accommodating" when she had to postpone her annual customer conference there two years ago because of SARS.
Commenting on next year's conference, she noted, "If we had to cancel due to a pandemic, I believe it would be very easy to reschedule with the hotel for the following year."
So far, none of Kress' attendees has raised the issue of avian flu, but she herself is worried.
"I'm very surprised other planners aren't concerned about this," she said. "The potential in terms of fatalities is more serious than SARS. Personally, it scares me quite a bit."