Some travelers who had planned to vacation in Mexico are shifting to Hawai'i in the wake of the widespread outbreak of deadly flu there, though travel experts say it's too early to tell what the overall impact will be here.

At California-based wholesaler Pleasant Holidays, president Jack Richards said, "A majority of people are rebooking to Hawai'i, so it's good news for Hawai'i."

He declined to provide exact business numbers, but said Mexico is normally the second-largest destination for passengers for his company after Hawai'i.

Richards said a dramatic increase in the number of cases or spread of the outbreak could change that travel outlook. If the flu cases become more widespread, he asked, "will people travel at all?"

He added, "We have to see how far this goes."

Another factor in making travel unpredictable is that people continue to make last-minute decisions on vacation travel, booking just weeks or days before they board their plane.

"We had a booking last Monday that booked one day in advance to leave to Hawai'i on Tuesday," Richards said. "People are making very, very last-minute decisions on travel, and Hawai'i is benefiting.

He said about half of the Mexico cancellations were rebooking to Hawai'i and the remainder to the Caribbean and Tahiti.

Hawai'i industry officials are watching the trend but are understandably reluctant to talk about a positive shift that follows a health problem in another part of the world.

Rick Egged, president of the Waikiki Improvement Association, also has heard about travelers shifting to Hawai'i.

"I was told of one group of around 100 people that canceled a Mexico meeting and rebooked in Hawai'i," Egged said.

And he said the group still got a good rate despite the last-minute shift. "I was impressed because the hotel offered them a good deal in keeping with our current rates rather than making any attempt to take advantage of the short-notice change," Egged said.

At the Hawai'i Visitors and Convention Bureau, president John Monahan said, "We are hearing from some of our travel partners that they are taking cancellations from Mexico."

Monahan said some are booking to another destination or canceling entirely. "Hawai'i is getting a portion of those cancellations," he said.

An Expedia spokesperson in Seattle said it's too early to identify a trend with available data.

"While some travelers are changing their plans, Expedia is seeing a lot of travelers taking a wait-and-see approach and others continuing with their trips as originally planned," she said.