U.S. State Department Travel Warning: Do Not Travel to China

Unless you live under a rock, you are probably aware that the U.S. State Department has issued it’s highest travel warning: Level 4: Do Not Travel to China.

To read the State Department’s official travel warning, CLICK HERE.

As you might imagine, this is creating a mess in the travel industry.

We have a fair number of clients booked to visit China in the coming months. So now, we are working on behalf of our clients to work out alternative travel arrangements with cruise lines and ground operators.

And, to make it even more fun, we are also experiencing unprecedented new travel bookings in the month of January.  Someone, please pass the Rolaids!  🙂

What to Do About the China Travel Warning

1. Don’t consider traveling to China until the State Department issues an all-clear.
2. If you have travel plans booked to travel to China in the coming months, work with your travel advisor or travel provider to work out alternative travel plans.
3. Be patient.  It is no easy task for travel brands to work out the details when these types of things happen.
4. If you have travel booked to China in the coming months, check your travel insurance policy. Unfortunately, unless you have a “cancel for any reason” travel insurance policy, you’re going to find that your fear of travel to China is not a covered item.  Travel insurance covers things that did go wrong, not things that might go wrong.

While we don’t know what impact the coronavirus might ultimately have on the world, I think it is also important to keep this in perspective. According to the CDC, up to 42.9 million people got sick during the 2018-2019 flu season, 647,000 people were hospitalized and 61,200 died.

We pray that this coronavirus is contained. And perhaps more importantly, if you haven’t received a flu shot, maybe it’s time to do so.

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