No one breathing easy with outbreak of SARS

Travelers are finding their itineraries changed in midtrip, ships rerouted and tours canceled as financially pressed airlines, tour operators and cruise lines struggle to deal with the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Asia.

"The travel industry has been absolutely devastated by the war. And now this," said Chris Boycott, president of Adventures Abroad, a Vancouver, B.C.-based tour operator that suspended its China trips and worked last week to reroute tour groups away from Hanoi and Hong Kong, where SARS has spread. "These are tough days."

The pneumonia-like disease originated in China's Guangdong Province, hit neighboring Hong Kong in March, and has been spread around the world by travelers. It has infected more than 2,600 worldwide and killed 100.

Airlines last week cut a quarter of their flights in and out of Hong Kong, and reduced service to other Asian cities.

In Thailand, the government was requiring foreigners coming from the places hardest hit — China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan — to wear surgical masks. And in Malaysia, where citizens of China and Hong Kong are being denied entry, officials suspended an agreement that sets minimum prices for airfares, freeing airlines to cut fares to counter a 40 percent decline in bookings.

Despite a U.S. State Department warning against travel to mainland China, Hong Kong and Vietnam, some tour operators, mainly those whose trips are arranged by Chinese suppliers, are going ahead with trips, especially popular Yangtze River cruises. In those cases, customers are being offered the chance to rebook for a later date, but cannot cancel without paying the usual penalties.

Before Sept. 11, tour companies traditionally offered refunds if the government issued a travel warning about a destination. But that's starting to change as many have been hit hard by the impact of the Iraq war.

"There are a lot of penalties that a lot of suppliers are sticking to, so we're basically passing them on," said Gerry Kerr, marketing director for Pacific Delight Tours, North America's largest Asian tour operator.

Pacific Delight is allowing customers booked on trips to China and Vietnam in April and May to rebook through December 2004, with no penalty. But so far, the company has not canceled any of its tours.

"There are people who are determined to go, even in April and May," Kerr said. Those who do are being asked to sign a waiver saying they are aware of the State Department warning.

Last-minute decisions

Some tour operators are making last-minute decisions on cancellations as they look for ways to reroute their trips to avoid affected areas.

"We've got a couple booked on a China tour with an extension to Mongolia, and Uniworld (Cruise Line) is saying 'no problem,' " said Gail Norris, a consultant for Premier Travel & Cruise in Springfield, Ore. "This tour doesn't go out for another six weeks, but clients are nervous."

Other companies have moved more quickly to cancel trips and refund payments.

Globus and Cosmos tour companies canceled all trips to Vietnam until further notice and canceled trips to China through June because they were unable to reroute passengers to avoid Hong Kong. Customers will get full refunds, said spokeswoman Barbara Bauerle.

Seattle-based REI Adventures, which has a policy of calling off trips in areas where the government issues a travel warning, canceled a tour to North China for middle-school students this month, and canceled its Vietnam bicycling trips for April.

Customers were given full refunds, said manager Cynthia Dunbar. Decisions are pending about future trips, including tours to China scheduled in May, but Dunbar said REI waived penalties for those who wanted to cancel.

Seattle-based Holland America Line changed the routing of two of its cruises to avoid ports of call in mainland China and Hong Kong. Both will now sail from Osaka, Japan, and make calls in South Korea and Russia.

Passengers can choose to rebook on another cruise for 75 percent credit, or accept the rerouting and Holland America will pay for any extra charges for airfare and hotels, said spokesman Erik Elvejord.

The situation in Asia with SARS has been changing almost daily since the World Health Organization issued its first alert last month.

Ninety percent of the cases reported worldwide have been in Hong Kong and nearby cities in the Guangdong Province. Uncertainty about what causes SARS and how to treat it are the biggest reasons for concern. Travelers are also concerned about the hassle factor.

Even experienced travelers, normally unfazed by war or threats of terrorist attacks, were raising questions on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree online bulletin board about traveling to Vietnam and Thailand later this spring and summer.

"It's looking like it's going to be a long, long, drawn-out battle," Dr. Gavin Joynt, director of the intensive care unit at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, told The Associated Press last week.

"We don't know where the end is going to be. One of the major stresses that we are dealing with is not knowing where this is going to go."

What's ahead

This is the time of year when tour operators plan next year's offerings, and mail out their 2004 brochures.

Many said they would go ahead with their itineraries, hoping SARS will be contained and the travel warnings lifted.

"We're optimistic it will be under control," said REI's Dunbar. "So we're planning all of our Asia trips as normal for next year."

Mountain Travel Sobek, a California tour operator that specializes in adventure travel, is including China and Vietnam in its 2004 offerings, after having dropped trips to Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Iran in 2002.

Trips scheduled this year to Bhutan, Nepal and Tibet, with air connections through Bangkok, are still on, and normal cancellation policies apply, said Robyn Gorman, marketing director.

For the latest updates on SARS, consult the King County Health Department at 206-296-4600 or www.metrokc.gov/health; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at 800-311-3435 or www.cdc.gov; the World Health Organization at www.who.int/en/; and the U.S. State Department at www.travel.state.gov.

Flights cut

In related news, several airlines reduced service in and out of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport last week, due to a drop in travel after the Iraq war started.

Northwest Airlines reduced its daily nonstop service to Amsterdam to five flights per week.

United Airlines cut six daily flights, including its nonstop service to New York's John F. Kennedy Airport, and U.S. Airways reduced its nonstop service to Pittsburgh. The airlines said the flights could be restored or there could be further cuts, depending on demand.

Carol Pucci: 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com