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Spread of Coronavirus Could Derail CNYers' Travel Plans

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Central New Yorkers who were considering a trip overseas might be having second thoughts as the coronavirus continues to spread across the globe. Michelle Putnam is general manager of Group Travel at AAA of Central and Western New York.   She says people have been asking if it’s safe to travel, and  agents have been reviewing locations and providing other options.  

“We are seeing some people have concerns but we aren’t really seeing people cancel their plans unless they were planning on going to Asia. If they were planning on going to China those have been postponed or changed to alternative sites,” Putnam said.

With the recent outbreak of coronavirus in parts of Italy, Putnam says some travelers might even be worried about traveling to Europe.  She says AAA has been directing travelers to a website where they can access the country they’re visiting and get up to date information.  But Putnam says some could choose to stay closer to home.

“Some people that may have wanted to do that trip over to Italy or Europe this year may instead take the trip to Yellowstone or Oregon or might do a cruise instead.  So I definitely think that there are people out there that are making that into their consideration for their travel plans and I’m sure there will be an impact.”

Putnam says the coronavirus is likely to have a larger impact on the travel industry this year if it continues to spread.