China travel little affected by bird flu death

TAIPEI - Local travel agents say China tourism from Taiwan remains stable, despite confirmation there earlier this week of the world's first human infection of the H10N8 avian flu strain. Roget Hsu, secretary-general of the Travel Agent Association, said the situation remains unclear.

Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control earlier issued a level-2 travel alert for the Chinese province of Jiangxi after a 73-year-old woman there died from H10N8 infection on December 6. The Mainland Affairs Council also issued a yellow travel alert for the province, warning Taiwanese nationals planning to visit to be particularly careful.

Earlier this year, travel to China suffered a major setback following an outbreak of H7N9 bird flu, with tourism operators complaining that related sales plunged by more than half (ATI).