Ada Health GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
J Travel Med. 2020 May 18;27(3). doi: 10.1093/jtm/taaa050.
A key purpose of the International Health Regulations (IHR) is to prevent unwarranted interruptions to trade and travel during large and/or transnational infectious disease outbreaks. Nevertheless, such outbreaks continue to disrupt the travel industry. This aspect of the IHR has received little attention in the academic literature despite its considerable impact on affected States and commercial activity. This article outlines the challenges and gaps in knowledge regarding the relationship between outbreaks and the travel sector and discusses the opportunities for further research and policy work to overcome these challenges.
We conducted a literature review on the relationship between outbreaks and travel restrictions, with a particular focus on the 2014-16 Ebola epidemic in West Africa. This review was complemented by an expert roundtable at Chatham House and further supported by case studies and qualitative interviews.
Numerous travel stakeholders are affected by, and affect, large-scale infectious disease outbreaks. These stakeholders react in different ways: peer pressure plays an important role for both governments and the travel sector, and the reactions of the media and public influence and are influenced by these stakeholders. While various data sources on travel are available, and World Health Organization is mandated to work with States, there is no recognized coordinating body to disseminate timely, consistent, reliable and authoritative information and best practices to all stakeholders.
This article highlights the interdependent relationship between various travel stakeholders. The reasons for interruption of travel during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak were complex, with decisions by States only partly contributing to the cessation. Decisions by non-state actors, particularly the travel industry itself, contributed significantly and were based on a variety of factors. Further research, analysis and policy development are required to mitigate the health and economic consequences of infectious disease outbreaks. Any further research will also need to take account of COVID-19 travel-related issues.
《国际卫生条例（IHR）》的一个主要目的是防止在发生大流行和/或跨国传染病疫情时不必要地中断贸易和旅行。然而，此类疫情仍在继续扰乱旅游业。尽管对受影响国家和商业活动产生了重大影响，但 IHR 在此方面在学术文献中几乎没有受到关注。本文概述了在疫情与旅游部门之间的关系方面存在的挑战和知识差距，并讨论了进一步开展研究和政策工作以克服这些挑战的机会。
我们对疫情与旅行限制之间的关系进行了文献综述，特别关注 2014-16 年西非埃博拉疫情。这项审查得到了在查塔姆大厦举行的专家圆桌会议的补充，并进一步得到了案例研究和定性访谈的支持。
许多旅游利益相关者受到大规模传染病疫情的影响，并对其产生影响。这些利益相关者的反应方式各不相同：同行压力对政府和旅游部门都很重要，媒体和公众的反应受到这些利益相关者的影响，同时也影响着这些利益相关者。虽然有各种关于旅行的数据源，并且世界卫生组织被授权与各国合作，但没有一个公认的协调机构可以向所有利益相关者及时、一致、可靠和权威地传播信息和最佳实践。
本文强调了各种旅游利益相关者之间相互依存的关系。在 2014-16 年埃博拉疫情期间，旅行中断的原因很复杂，各国的决定只是导致旅行停止的部分原因。非国家行为者的决定，特别是旅游业本身，也做出了重大贡献，并且基于多种因素。需要进一步开展研究、分析和政策制定，以减轻传染病疫情的健康和经济后果。任何进一步的研究还需要考虑到与 COVID-19 相关的旅行问题。
