Australian Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson said on Thursday that it is too early to assess the impact of swine flu on Australia's tourism industry.

Ferguson said that global tourism is taking an economic hit at the moment, but it's too early to actually assess the impact of swine flu on tourism numbers and international travel.

The SARS outbreak caused a drop in international tourism to Australia of two percent over 12 months, he said, adding "initially there was a drop of 13 percent."

Australian health department was "appropriately handling the matter" and tourism operators in Australia had adopted a measured approach to the outbreak, said Ferguson.

"The tourism industry is not seeing a crisis situation," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2009)