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Fain: Ebola impact on bookings muted, nothing like SARS

Fain: Ebola impact on bookings muted, nothing like SARS
Royal Caribbean has not experienced any big impact on cruise bookings due to Ebola concerns and nothing like the reaction to the SARS outbreak a dozen years ago, chairman and ceo Richard Fain said Thursday.

'We're not seeing anything like the situation we had with SARS,' Fain told analysts during Royal Caribbean's third quarter earnings call. SARS created a sudden, negative impact.

With Ebola, 'The impact has been quite small.'

The media focus has already shifted from the overreaction to a discussion of why America overreacted to the threat, Fain said. 'The hysteria over the issue seems to have abated even over the last few days.'

He posited the probability of a serious Ebola outbreak in the US 'approaches zero.'

Fain noted the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Cruise Lines International Association have protocols in place to contain the virus and expressed his confidence that the CDC is acting effectively to contain it.