Hong Kong tourist trade battered by killer virus
Hong Kong tourist trade battered by killer virus
Agence France-Presse, Hong Kong
The outbreak of a killer pneumonia virus in Hong Kong has devastated the key tourism sector, and many within the industry expect the situation to worsen as more countries issue travel warnings to steer clear of the city.
Economists have warned that the spread of the atypical pneumonia virus which causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) will cost the economy billions of dollars, with tourism and retail sectors the major casualties if the situation remains unresolved.
Hong Kong has been at the centre of a worldwide alert over SARS since an American businessman, who had visited China and Vietnam, succumbed to the disease here on March 13.
Since then some travel agencies have reported that new bookings to the territory have slumped up to 90 percent with possibly worse to come as more nations issue warnings calling on citizens to avoid trips to the city.
The executive director of the Travel Industry Council, Joseph Tung, said the number of tourist arrivals had slumped some 30 percent in the past week alone, while outbound tours were also down 20 percent.
"There is not much we can do about the travel warnings," he said. "However, we are calling on overseas travel agents to provide advice to their customers not to cancel their trips to Hong Kong, but merely delay them for a while."
The U.S. and Ireland issued warnings to its citizens on Friday to avoid most travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Hanoi, while Canada imposed strict screening procedures of passengers flying in and out of affected areas.
Hong Kong officials announced another SARS-related death on Saturday taking the toll in the city to 12. Another 45 infected people were added to the territory's tally raising the total to 470, the third highest rise since the outbreak started.
The latest death brings the global total of reported SARS dead to 55, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying around 1,500 people are infected.
Hong Kong had been looked upon with envy at the start of 2003 after it announced tourist numbers soared 20.7 percent to 16.6 million for 2002 on the back of a surge in mainland Chinese visitors.
Visitor numbers around the globe slumped in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Tourism officials tipped a tougher year ahead for 2003, with forecast growth of 8.4 percent growth after factoring in effects of the US-led war in Iraq -- but they had not bargained for SARS.
Economists warn the double blow, if not resolved quickly, will hammer Hong Kong's tentative economic recovery. The government has forecast GDP growth of 3.0 percent for 2003 after the economy grew 2.3 percent in 2002 and just 0.1 percent a year earlier.
"Aside from the terrible human cost of war and illness, we believe the most immediate economic impact on Hong Kong is the likely setback to inbound tourism," Morgan Stanley economist Denise Yam said in a report.
Hong Kong could lose HK$2 billion (US$257 million) in the next two months, equal to 0.16 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) if the war and the SARS outbreak did not end soon, Yam forecast.
The local tourism industry also suffered another severe blow Saturday with the cancellation of concerts in Hong Kong by rocker Carlos Santana and pop star Moby just days after The Rolling Stones axed weekend shows in Hong Kong.
This followed announcements from Qantas Airlines it would reduce by 20 percent the number of flights from Australia to Hong Kong from April 1 to mid-July.