Survey: Zika fear has scratched trips to Disney

Walt Disney World
Walt Disney World

Almost half of U.S. travelers in a survey said they canceled plans to visit Walt Disney World or decided against visiting the Orlando-area theme park to avoid exposure to the mosquito-borne Zika virus. An organization called CivicScience conducted the survey of about 5,000 respondents last week for financial services firm BTIG, which cited the survey  in a research note on Disney stock.

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Unlike Miami and the Tampa area, no cases of locally transmitted Zika infection have been reported in Orlando. But in response to public health concerns, three Orlando-area theme parks – Disney World, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando – began handing out mosquito repellant to their guests last month. Tourism promotion agency Visit Orlando reported no reduction in advance bookings of Orlando hotel rooms due to potential Zika exposure. [Orlando Sentinel]Mike Seemuth