Tourists and epidemics: how news media cover the risks of Zika virus and chikungunya outbreaks in the Americas

Abstract

Globally, the tourism industry has shown to be vulnerable to emerging infectious diseases outbreaks (i.e. COVID-19, Ebola, H1N1). In general, these diseases are often novel and unknown; therefore, news media becomes a key informative communication channel. We conducted a content analysis of newsprint media published between 2010 and 2019 that focused on two recent emerging epidemics in the Americas, Zika virus and chikungunya, and tourism. The results show that the number of published news suddenly increased when the outbreaks of both diseases took place and decreased in the following years. The majority of articles advised avoiding travel to places with outbreaks, especially those concerning Zika virus. A smaller percentage included informative messages about actions travellers can adopt to protect themselves from these diseases. As emerging disease outbreaks are predicted to continue, communication during future crises should provide travellers with accurate information about the diseases, balanced with suggestions on how to prevent and manage an infection, encouraging responsible travel rather than fear and travel avoidance. Well-coordinated and informed risk communication can serve as a proactive and reactive strategy to mitigate and cope with future risk-related events.