Amidst H1N1 fears, travelers are still lining up at airports to take advantage of the available travel discounts. (Kirk Darbyshire photo)

Students looking for sun and sand on a budget may be in luck this winter, but they shouldn’t forget to wash their hands.

“Southern destinations are always popular over the holiday season. Even this year, with the H1N1 scare, ticket sales are still very strong,” said Kyko Purvis, a travel agent with Merlin Travel. “It has a lot to do with the great deals available.”

The Public Health Agency of Canada posted a level one advisory for travel globally because of the H1N1 flu, but has not specifically listed any country as an area of higher risk. The level one advisory is the lowest of three issued by the organization.

As a result of the H1N1 virus outbreak, most airlines, hotels and travel agents have sweetened their deals in an attempt to cash in on the lucrative holiday travel season. Room upgrades, seat upgrades, travel vouchers that cover the cost of your airfare when you book for a week-long stay at a resort, and transfers that will get you from the airport to your hotel for free are all perks being offered for those who are willing to ignore the travel advisories.

“People are weighing the risks to their health against the savings in their pocket-books,” said Purvis, “and booking their tickets, for most, is an easy choice.”

Dr. Sarah Thrasher, of the Travel Medicine and Vaccination Centre, has seen an increase in people inquiring about the safety of travel to many destinations.
“I’ve been advising people the risk of travelling this year is relatively
no different then that of previous years,” said Thrasher.

Regular hand washing, using hand sanitizers, avoiding people with signs of respiratory illness and being vaccinated – once the vaccine is available to Canadians – are all ways of protecting yourself against H1N1 infection, said Thrasher. Canada has just over 50 million doses of the vaccine on order, and they should be available in early to mid-November. That’s enough for everyone in Canada who wants one to be vaccinated.

“H1N1 causes relatively moderate symptoms in those infected, so people don’t need to feel afraid to travel,” said Thrasher.

Kwantlen PR program alumni Karin Lornsen hams it up at the Westin Grand Hotel on Robson Street in Vancouver, the headquarters for ComedyFest Vancouver during the festival. (Justin Langille photo)

A Kwantlen alumnus working with ComedyFest Vancouver is offering current students discount tickets for the remainder of the festival.

Karin Lornsen, a 2007 graduate of the public relations diploma program, told The Chronicle that $9.95 tickets to a select set of performances at The Cultch theater (see details below) will be reserved for Kwantlen students. Interested students only have to show up to the theatre, located at the corner of Venebles and Victoria, with a valid Kwantlen student ID to receive discount admission to some of the most cutting-edge performances of the festival.

She also said that if students want tickets for other festival shows, they can be ordered from the Ticketmaster website for the same price.

After graduating from Kwantlen, Lornsen worked as a PR intern at Karyo Edelman Communications, one of Vancouver’s biggest PR and communications companies, but felt the constraints of working in a structured, “hands-off” environment. “It was a great experience and they had lots of major clients,” she said, “but I wasn’t allowed to do much.”

Once her contract expired, her communications savvy earned her a position in radio promotions and social media with Destination Funny, the local promotion company that puts on Comedy Fest Vancouver every year.

Lornsen said that the job change has let her “get her hands dirty” and have some fun while she works.

“There is definitely a sense of humor around here. Our producer is a stand-up too, he headlines at Just For Laugh…we’re like a family around here, hanging out, opening bottles of beer. It’s crunch time now, but it’s been a great experience.”

Lornsen may be out there enjoying the PR career that she wants, but she remembers what it was like to be a student and is happy to reach out and offer some entertainment to Kwantlen students.

“I was a student for 10 years, I definitely know how it is financially. I thought it would be a good opportunity for students to kick back before exams and have some fun.

• • •

Shows that are being offered at a discount are:

• Edge of the Fest with David Cross, hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos: Saturday, 8 p.m., The Vogue
• Comedy Death Ray : Thursday, 8 p.m., The Vogue
• Best of the Fest with Tom Arnold: Friday, 8 p.m., The Centre in Vancouver For Performing Arts
• Best of the Fest with Red Green: Saturday, 8 p.m., The Centre in Vancouver For Performing Arts
• SF Sketchfest: Friday and Saturday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Comedy Lab
• Picnicface & Friends: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Comedy Lab
• Comedy Noir: Jesus Roast: Saturday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• Comedy Noir: Hitler Roast: Friday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• Comedy Noir: Obama Roast: Thursday, 9 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• Politics, Truth and Other Incompatibles: Thursday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• I’m Only a Little Racist: Friday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre
• OMG: Saturday, 7 p.m., The Cultch Historic Theatre