Bedbugs scare away New York tourists

Bedbugs scare away New York tourists

Bedbugs have spread from hotel rooms to popular spots in New York City, prompting tourists to rethink or downright cancel their bookings to spend the holidays in the Big Apple.

Many visitors have expressed concern about sleeping in hotel bedrooms and visiting tourist attractions because of several reports of bedbug appearances.

City officials are also apprehensive about the situation’s impact on the city’s $30 billion tourism sector.

Reports have come in about bug sightings in Bloomingdale’s, the Lincoln Center, and the Empire State Building. Some cinemas, retail shops, and more hotels have also reported seeing bedbugs.

But tourism industry officials denied having received news of anyone cancelling trips and bookings because of bedbugs.

NYC & Company, New York’s tourism office said it has not recorded cancellations from tourists worried about the spread of bedbugs.

However, city officials acknowledge that museum and hotel operators have expressed their concern to them that they may lose more customers because of the worsening bedbug scare.

There has been a noticeable rise of bedbugs not just in New York but across the United States in recent years. It is yet unclear what the reason is behind the surge, but scientists speculate that the rise in worldwide travel and pesticide bans may be contributing factors.

The pests are notoriously tough to eliminate because they can survive for up to one year without food and can hide in almost all places.

Authorities say the severity of the problem could not be fully determined because of the stigma associated with having bed bugs and difficulty in confirming infestation cases.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Tuesday October 26 2010, 5:45 AM EST. Ref: AP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0