Travel Advice Research Articles

The evolving Japanese encephalitis situation in Australia and implications for travel medicine.

The recent emergence of Japanese encephalitis in south-eastern Australia highlights the changing epidemiology of this important disease and the need for integrated surveillance to inform risk-based discussions and vaccination advice for travellers and endemic populations.

Outbreak of tomato flu in India raising concerns: is it a false alarm or are we welcoming a new pandemic?

Outbreak of tomato flu in India raising concerns: is it a false alarm or are we welcoming a new pandemic?

Preface: 4th International Conference on Computer Science and Intelligent Communication (CSIC 2022)

2022 4th International Conference on Computer Science and Intelligent Communication (CSIC 2022) was held online in Tianjin, China during December 17-18, 2022. Due to the evolving public health concerns and travel advisories issued for the avoidance of non-essential travel in view of COVID-19, the CSIC 2022 has been held virtually with about 105 guests. It was a fully synchronized online conference that had live Q&A, participants jointly listened to presentations. The conference program was organized in 4 sessions, with 6 plenary and 26 specialized papers presented. Each plenary speech lasted for 30-35 minutes, including 5-10 minutes for Q&A. While for other sessions, there was 10-15 minutes for each presentation, including 3-5 minutes for Q&A.
 CSIC 2022 provides a forum for accessing to the most up-to-date and authoritative knowledge from both industrial and academic worlds, sharing best practice in the fields of computer science, information engineering, intelligent computing, communication technology. A key aspect of this conference is the strong mixture of academia and industry. This allows for the free exchange of ideas and challenges faced by these two key stakeholders and encourage future collaboration between members of these groups.
 All papers in this proceeding were subject to peer-review by conference committee members and international reviewers. The papers were selected for the proceedings based on quality and relevance to the conference. We express our gratitude to all people who contributed to the review process and did all their best to enhance the scientific merit and quality of the Proceedings. We are also grateful to the authors for their contributions, to the speakers and participants. We wish to extend our warmest welcome to all interested participants to the next CSIC.
 The CSIC Organizing committee
 Tianjin, China

The Art of Travelling in Good Health: Assessing and Addressing the Risks of Mobility in Early Modern Europe

Through English and French examples from the early modern period, and with parallels to the ongoing Covid crisis, this article highlights the important intersections of medical history and travel studies regarding the importance of health in discussions on travel. Considerations on the risks related to travel were an integral part of early modern ideas on mobility. Travel advice literature, art of travel dissertations and private documents confirm that travel was deemed to be a dangerous undertaking for both body and soul: the road itself, foreign climes, and foreign mores were deemed to be possible sources of unease, discomfort and even severe danger. Careful preparation and “risk assessment” allowed, however, not only to mitigate such dangers, but also to benefit from exposure to them, for the development of the traveller and of their country.

Measures reducing travel by public transport during peak hours

Generally, the cost of public transport has increased. Previous research has identified peak hour traffic as the main cost driver, mostly because the travel demand increases the number of vehicles and drivers needed. The purpose of this study is to identify measures aiming to reduce travel with public transport during peak hours, conducted through a semi-systematic literature review. The measures found were fare price differentiation, rewards, information regarding vehicle crowding, staggered school hours, flexible working hours, and working remotely. No studies of soft measures (e.g., campaigns and travel advice) for transport demand management were found. The results indicate that commuters with flexible working hours might have limiting factors that affect their ability to change departure time, for example, activities in connection to work and family responsibilities.

Influence of Interpersonal Communication on Hotel Performance: A Case of Classified Hotels along the Kenyan Coastal Tourism Hub

Kenya’s coast is a renowned tourism hub, thanks to its natural beaches, a serene environment and world-class hotels. Unfortunately, these hotels’ average check has been inconsistent. Insecurity, seasonality challenges, and frequent travel advisories have been pointed out as some of the contributing factors to the trend. Interestingly, other destinations facing similar challenges bounce back so fast thanks to their inventive approaches to reducing guest churn. It is not clear whether Kenya’s coastal classified hotels have adopted such strategies. This study sought to assess whether communication approaches could improve hotel performance in classified hotels in Kenya’s coastal tourism hub. It targeted hotel guests of the 15 classified hotels in Mombasa County, based on a descriptive research design. A stratified sampling technique was adopted where three strata based on the hotels’ star ratings were formed settling on the 384 guests, 26 for each of the hotels. Both a questionnaire and an interview schedule were developed for data collection. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between interpersonal communication and hotel performance in classified hotels in Mombasa County (R=0.795; P=0.000) These findings serve as a red flag to classified hotel managers to re-innovate interpersonal communication strategies used to maximize hotel performance.

Traveling with primary immunodeficiency

Travel advice websites, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Immune Deficiency Foundation (IDF), recommend that prospective travelers with immunodeficiency consult their physician before embarking on their next adventure. So, when your inborn error of immunity (IEI) patient schedules an appointment to discuss their next trip, what will you say? Although a comprehensive treatise on travel with IEI is beyond the scope of this Perspective, there are general concepts, references, and IEI-specific recommendations that can guide you in your discussion.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practices among Public Health Professionals towards COVID-19 in India

World is suffering from a pandemic situation due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) since December 2019. In this emergency, everyone at individual/country/global level is trying to contribute at their best with their available knowledge and resources. However, more and more research and developmental activities are going on but, the reality is far away for a grass-root level health professional. They rely on the indirect sources, that is, published or unpublished literature, social media, internet etc. Many a time, these sources may share an unrealistic or false positive/negative information. Our study was intended to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices related to COVID-19 among the healthcare professionals of different levels. We conducted an online survey after the initiation of the first lockdown in India. Our research team in consultation with the subject experts designed a mix method-based study tool and shared it by sending emails to 1,200 participants. A total of 180 respondents participated in the online survey of which 34% were government health professionals and 24% were working with a research/academic institution. All participants were between 23 and 74 years age group (mean 39 years). Participants shared their views on first, knowledge about symptoms, preventive measures and treatment options for COVID-19. Second, on attitude towards handling COVID-19 pandemic using social distancing, following lockdown and travel advisory, etc. Third, on the practice of non-pharmaceutical measures to prevent COVID-19. We found that the social media platform acted as one of the most important platforms for awareness generation regarding COVID-19 but it was also generating stigma among people. Till the time of the survey, there is still a dearth of knowledge about social distancing and what it means, especially physical distance of 1–3 metres and correct usage of mask in different situations. Various important issues pertaining to infant feeding practices, mother and childcare and disposal of dead bodies of COVID infected persons require deliberations and awareness.

Editorial: academic peer reviewers – The good, bad, and the ugly

Editorial: academic peer reviewers – The good, bad, and the ugly

The impact of terrorism on risk perceptions: An analysis of the Dutch market behavior and attitudes towards Egypt

This research aims to gain a better understanding of the impact of terrorism on risk perceptions and attitudes of Dutch travel behavior towards Egypt. The research process involved an online self-administered method created with one of the leading research and web-based survey tools called Qualtrics. The questionnaire was filled in by 414 respondents. Findings indicate that (potential) Dutch tourists are less likely to take risks when traveling with children. For instance, people that usually travel with children state to avoid traveling to countries within the MENA region because of unrest related to terrorism. Over half of the sample size would not consider traveling to Egypt due to the current travel advisory of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The practical implications of this research are related aimed at relevant stakeholders within the tourism industry and creating a more appealing image of Egypt as a holiday destination.

Understanding Destination Value Co-Creation on Social Media: An Application of Travel Blog Analysis

The sharing of travel experiences through social media platforms reflects contemporary consumer culture, but it is still a phenomenon being researched in tourism literature. In this paper, we theorize that sharing travel experience through social media may operate as a distinct social communication process, and investigate how it contributes to the co-creation of destination value. A qualitative analysis of 97 travel blogs reveals three distinct themes that have the potential for co-creating destination value: motivation, memorable travel experiences, and advice. The results indicate that tourists and destination marketers interpret destination value differently in motivation. The sharing of memorable travel experiences and advice with readers and fellow tourists improves potential tourists’ cognition and emotional connection to the destination, thereby increasing the level of tourist destination engagement. The extension of the consumer socialization framework provides a deeper understanding of the destination value co-creation process, and provides useful insights for destination promotion and management.

Travel and terrain advice statements in public avalanche bulletins: a quantitative analysis of who uses this information, what makes it useful, and how it can be improved for users

Abstract. Recreationists are responsible for developing their own risk management plans for travelling in avalanche terrain. To help recreationists mitigate their exposure to avalanche hazard, many avalanche warning services include explicit travel and terrain advice (TTA) statements in their daily avalanche bulletins where forecasters offer guidance about what specific terrain to avoid and what to favour under the existing conditions. However, the use and effectiveness of this advice has never been tested to ensure it meets the needs of recreationists developing their risk management approach for backcountry winter travel. We conducted an online survey in Canada and the United States to determine which user groups are paying attention to the TTA in avalanche bulletins, what makes these statements useful, and if modifications to the phrasing of the statements would improve their usefulness for users. Our analysis reveals that the core audience of the TTA is users with introductory-level avalanche awareness training who integrate slope-scale terrain considerations into their avalanche safety decisions. Using a series of proportional-odds ordinal mixed-effect models, we show that reducing the jargon used in the advice helped users with no or only introductory-level avalanche awareness training understand the advice significantly better and adding an additional explanation made the advice more useful for them. These results provide avalanche warning services with critical perspectives and recommendations for improving their TTA so that they can better support recreationists who are at earlier stages of developing their avalanche risk management approach and therefore need the support the most.

Impacts of advisory perception and cultural distance on travel intention: evidence from China

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of travel advisory perception and cultural distance on travel intention based on the push and pull theory, the stimulus–organism–response model and protection motivation theory.Design/methodology/approachThe paper conducts an empirical test with a questionnaire survey. The authors asked respondents to answer questions on a five-point Likert-type scale, which included threat severity, threat susceptibility, advisory perception, perceived cultural distance, travel motivation and travel intention.FindingsIn this paper, through a questionnaire of 424 respondents, the authors found that threat severity has a positive impact on advisory perception and perceived cultural distance, and that advisory perception indirectly affect travel intention through travel motivation.Originality/valuePrevious literature has discussed the influencing factors of travel intention but rarely does it consider the intrinsic relationship and interaction between advisory perception and cultural distance. The results of this study help fill some gaps in the research on advisory perception and perceived cultural distance, guide governments on how to better formulate travel advisories and provide a new perspective for tourism industry practitioners to improve their travel products after the COVID-19 pandemic especially.

Imported Infectious Diseases, Tropical Diseases and Local Endemic Infectious Diseases in Japan.

We aimed to describe the historical perspectives and the current epidemiology of tropical, imported and local endemic infectious diseases in Japan in this review. Public health legislation for infectious diseases and immigration statistics were overviewed to provide the background of the infectious disease situation in Japan. Many tropical diseases were successfully controlled and eliminated in the latter half of the 20th century and the majority of those diseases are imported today. The trend of the main 15 imported infectious diseases before the advent of COVID-19 was summarized as well as local endemic infectious diseases in Japan. Transmission risks of traditional cuisines, lifestyles and nature exposures in Japan are introduced to guide clinicians for travel advice to prevent those local infectious diseases.

Preface

2022 11th International Conference on Information and Electronics Engineering was held online during February 19-21, 2022. Due to the evolving public health concerns and travel advisories issued for the avoidance of non-essential travel in view of COVID-19, the conference ICIEE 2022 has been held virtually via Zoom video conference platform. It was a fully synchronized online conference. Participants jointly listened to presentations, and attended other live events associated with the conference.ICIEE 2022 is sponsored by Jeju National University with technical support from Fukuoka Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Science, CISCO Networking Academy. The objective of ICIEE 2022 was to provide a platform for professionals, experts, and scholars to discuss and disseminate the latest implementation of applications, principles, and algorithms in the broad area of information and electronic Engineering, including but not limited to electronic science and information technology, electromagnetic field and microwave technology, coding and signal processing.ICIEE 2022 received many submissions from members of universities, research institutes and industries. All papers were subject to peer-review by conference committee members and international reviewers. The acceptance of the papers is based on their quality and relevance to the conference. We hope that this volume of conference proceedings will serve as a valuable reference for researchers, educators, and practitioners.List of Committee are available in the pdf.

Congenital asplenia study: clinical and laboratory characterisation of adults with congenital asplenia.

Congenital asplenia is a rare disorder commonly associated with other visceral and cardiac congenital anomalies. Isolated congenital asplenia is even less common than syndromic forms. The risk of severe bacterial infections associated with asplenia is the most concerning clinical implication and carries a significant mortality risk. Prophylactic measures against the clinical syndrome known as overwhelming postsplenectomy infections (OPSI) include vaccination, prophylactic and emergency antibiotics and health education including fever management and travel advice. This case series describes fourteen adults with congenital asplenia and polysplenia syndrome, most of whom were diagnosed incidentally as adults, and outlines the nature of their diagnosis, clinical phenotype, family history and key pathology findings.

Will tourists take mobile travel advice? Examining the personalization-privacy paradox

Recognizing the penetration of mobile devices and its transformational impact on travel behavior, tourism and hospitality businesses have been investing on various mobile initiatives to connect with travelers, hoping to influence their decision-making behaviors at different stages throughout the trip. One of these strategies is to provide personalized contents that are more attractive and persuasive. As research regarding the impact of mobile-driven personalization practices on travel behavior is limited, this study investigates the factors affecting travelers' adoption of personalized mobile travel advice. Based on personalization-privacy paradox and self-referencing effect, a 2 (self-reference: high vs. low) × 2 (relevance: high vs. low) between-subjects experiment was carried out. The results demonstrate the mechanism underlying the effects of personalization cues (self-reference and content relevance) on travelers’ intention to adopt personalized mobile travel advice. The competitive mediating roles of perceived personalization and privacy concern on the relationship between personalization cues and adoption intention are highlighted.

Impacts and effects of the use of medications by crew and passengers during air transport

During a flight, changes occur in the human body, whose possible reactions can influence the well-being and quality of health of medicine users, subject of scarce studies. The aim of this paper is to analyze the impacts and effects of medication use during air transport. Through a literature review and documentary research methodology, relevant facts about the precautions that should be taken regarding the use of medication in flights were considered. As a practical contribution, some important medications and their possible effects during flights are presented, as well as some warnings about medication interactions, and some advice for better quality air travel for the health of passengers and crew are given. As a theoretical contribution, this study gathers the scattered information presented in the literature about the problems that the use of medications during a flight can cause to the human body and possible recommendations. As social contribution, this study warns about the risks of self-medication, and establishes a basis for future discussions with society about the use of medication in flights.

Public health and COVID‐19: Leaky bodies and regulated borders

AbstractThe adoption of border restrictions is a political act that situates bodies relative to the nation state. Despite its lauded pandemic response, Aotearoa/New Zealand deviated from WHO recommendations in its use of strict border control measures. This commentary seeks to critically situate Aotearoa's adoption of border restrictions within the context of quarantine historically and global policy advice. Informed by discourse analysis of WHO COVID‐19 technical guidance and travel advisories, it is argued that in situating COVID‐19 as a global health problem requiring multilateral action WHO advice failed to reflect the needs of nation states, such as Aotearoa/New Zealand, which were poorly prepared to respond to a pandemic.

Giving travel advice in the uncertain age of COVID-19

As restrictions ease and more people holiday overseas, the importance of providing accurate travel health advice increases. Jacqueline Spinks and colleagues provide an overview of current guidance The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic drop in people travelling to other countries for pleasure; however, now that restrictions across the UK are easing, more people are seeking a break and a long-awaited holiday overseas. Practice nurses are uniquely placed to provide travel advice not just in relation to COVID-19 requirements and restrictions, but also to remind travellers of the importance of being prepared for all other communicable diseases and travel-related hazards. This article aims to provide a summary of the latest and up to date information in England (links to guidance covering the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are found in Box 1 ) and covers a summary of COVID-19, current guidance on travel during the pandemic, information about pre-planning for overseas travel, return from travel and information about being identified as a contact during travel, general travel advice; and ends with links to the most relevant guidance and information available.