Hong Kong tourist trade battered by killer virus<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong<\/p>\n
The outbreak of a killer pneumonia virus in Hong Kong has
\ndevastated the key tourism sector, and many within the industry
\nexpect the situation to worsen as more countries issue travel
\nwarnings to steer clear of the city.<\/p>\n
Economists have warned that the spread of the atypical
\npneumonia virus which causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
\n(SARS) will cost the economy billions of dollars, with tourism
\nand retail sectors the major casualties if the situation remains
\nunresolved.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong has been at the centre of a worldwide alert over
\nSARS since an American businessman, who had visited China and
\nVietnam, succumbed to the disease here on March 13.<\/p>\n
Since then some travel agencies have reported that new
\nbookings to the territory have slumped up to 90 percent with
\npossibly worse to come as more nations issue warnings calling on
\ncitizens to avoid trips to the city.<\/p>\n
The executive director of the Travel Industry Council, Joseph
\nTung, said the number of tourist arrivals had slumped some 30
\npercent in the past week alone, while outbound tours were also
\ndown 20 percent.<\/p>\n
"There is not much we can do about the travel warnings," he
\nsaid. "However, we are calling on overseas travel agents to
\nprovide advice to their customers not to cancel their trips to
\nHong Kong, but merely delay them for a while."<\/p>\n
The U.S. and Ireland issued warnings to its citizens on Friday
\nto avoid most travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hanoi,
\nwhile Canada imposed strict screening procedures of passengers
\nflying in and out of affected areas.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong officials announced another SARS-related death on
\nSaturday taking the toll in the city to 12. Another 45 infected
\npeople were added to the territory's tally raising the total to
\n470, the third highest rise since the outbreak started.<\/p>\n
The latest death brings the global total of reported SARS dead
\nto 55, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying around
\n1,500 people are infected.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong had been looked upon with envy at the start of 2003
\nafter it announced tourist numbers soared 20.7 percent to 16.6
\nmillion for 2002 on the back of a surge in mainland Chinese
\nvisitors.<\/p>\n
Visitor numbers around the globe slumped in the wake of the
\nSeptember 11 terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n
Tourism officials tipped a tougher year ahead for 2003, with
\nforecast growth of 8.4 percent growth after factoring in effects
\nof the US-led war in Iraq -- but they had not bargained for SARS.<\/p>\n
Economists warn the double blow, if not resolved quickly, will
\nhammer Hong Kong's tentative economic recovery. The government
\nhas forecast GDP growth of 3.0 percent for 2003 after the economy
\ngrew 2.3 percent in 2002 and just 0.1 percent a year earlier.<\/p>\n
"Aside from the terrible human cost of war and illness, we
\nbelieve the most immediate economic impact on Hong Kong is the
\nlikely setback to inbound tourism," Morgan Stanley economist
\nDenise Yam said in a report.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong could lose HK$2 billion (US$257 million) in the next
\ntwo months, equal to 0.16 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
\nif the war and the SARS outbreak did not end soon, Yam forecast.<\/p>\n
The local tourism industry also suffered another severe blow
\nSaturday with the cancellation of concerts in Hong Kong by rocker
\nCarlos Santana and pop star Moby just days after The Rolling
\nStones axed weekend shows in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
This followed announcements from Qantas Airlines it would
\nreduce by 20 percent the number of flights from Australia to Hong
\nKong from April 1 to mid-July.<\/p>",
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