As SARS slows, Asia looks for travelers

The SARS outbreak has decimated vacation and business travel to and within Asia, but as the viral disease's spread slowed in the past 10 days, governments and businesses have started to think of reviving travel.

Toronto, however, was fighting another round of SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. The Canadian city has suffered the worst outbreak of the pneumonialike viral disease outside Asia.

Here's a rundown on the impacts of SARS, which has infected more than 8,200 people and killed at least 735 worldwide since emerging in southern China in the winter.

Toronto battles SARS again

The World Health Organization last week again listed Toronto as one of the areas affected by SARS after Canadian officials found more than 20 possible new cases of the virus in late May. The WHO had not renewed its more stringent travel warning to avoid visiting Toronto, as of midweek (when the Travel section is printed). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has issued a similar alert, not recommending against travel to Toronto, but advising travelers to be aware of the disease.

The WHO issues a travel warning when there are 60 new cases of SARS a day in an area, or when there's a risk the disease will be spread to other parts of the world, said Paul Gully, senior director general at Health Canada.

"Toronto doesn't meet any of those criteria," said Gully, adding that screening systems, such as temperature monitors and passenger questionnaires, are in use at Toronto's Pearson International Airport to prevent the export of e SARS.

Toronto had been removed from both WHO travel lists by mid-May after it appeared the disease's spread had been contained.

At the height of the first SARS crisis earlier this spring, downtown Toronto hotels sat two-thirds empty with cancellations, costing the city's hotels $125 million, according to the Toronto Star newspaper.

Last week, some worried travelers again were postponing visits, including former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who canceled a speech in Toronto after her family expressed concern about SARS. Locally, thousands of residents were in voluntary quarantine last week to prevent the disease's spread.

The Toronto outbreak, the largest outside of Asia, began in March, when a woman returned to Toronto from Hong Kong and became ill. She infected several family members with SARS, setting off a chain of transmission through health workers and patients, with more than 27 deaths so far. Most of Canada's approximately 150 SARS cases, and deaths, have been in the Toronto area.

Hong Kong slowly gets back to normal

Hong Kong is struggling to get back to normal after successfully slowing the spread of SARS. Like Toronto, it remains listed by the World Health Organization as an area where the disease still occurs, but WHO's seven-week travel advisory against visiting Hong Kong was lifted in late May. (The WHO advisory against travel to the neighboring southern Chinese province of Guangdong, where SARS first emerged in the winter, also was canceled.)

Health officials have been reporting only a few new infections each day in Hong Kong. In subways and shopping malls, people wearing protective masks were in the minority last week for the first time in months.

Business and government groups are working to lure back travelers. Hong Kong's tourism has been devastated by SARS: It had 490,000 visitors in April, down 65 percent from a year ago, said Economic Development Secretary Stephen Ip. Hotels had only about 15 percent occupancy in May.

Hong Kong has been one of the areas most badly affected by SARS, with more than 1,730 infections and 270 deaths.

Beijing starts to open up

Beijing has been in a SARS stranglehold, but China's capital also is beginning to return to life with some bars, restaurants and schools reopening.

Although Chinese authorities are warning against relaxing anti-SARS vigilance, fewer people are wearing surgical masks, and newspapers say traffic accidents are surging as drivers return to the streets.

At the height of the outbreak, Beijing ordered sporting events canceled and theaters and other entertainment sites closed in hopes of containing the virus. Tens of thousands of people have been quarantined, and many public events remain banned.

On some days last week, Chinese health authorities reported new SARS cases in the single digits on China's mainland — a sharp drop from early May, when more than 100 new cases a day were reported. But at least 175 people have died in Beijing, which accounts for about half of mainland China's more than 5,323 SARS infections.

As of mid-week, the World Health Organization still warned against travel to Beijing and to some other areas of China.

Taiwan's tough approach working

Taiwan has the dubious distinction of being the third worst-affected SARS area, after Beijing and Hong Kong.

The island has suffered more than 610 SARS infections and 80 deaths, and both the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department have warned against nonessential travel to Taiwan.

However, thanks to Taiwan's stringent public health measures, the number of new cases was slowing significantly last week, according to the World Health Organization.

Travel bans related to SARS have disrupted business between Taiwan manufacturers and their factories in China, and consumer spending on the island has tumbled. The government has slashed its economic-growth forecast for this year to 2.9 percent from 3.7 percent, citing SARS.

Travel companies offering deals

Travel marketers to Asia are beginning to fight back after being dealt a one-two punch by the war in Iraq and the outbreak of SARS, which has crippled tourism to many once-popular Asian destinations.

Their weapon of choice: too-good-to-resist deals designed to stimulate travel to Asian locales that have not been affected by SARS. For the most part, tour operators are targeting seasoned, upscale vacationers, who may be lured by five-star accommodations at two-star prices in exotic spots such as Bali and Bangkok.

"The war was our initial concern, but SARS immediately became a much bigger concern," says C.J. Dennett, marketing vice president for Pleasant Holidays. "The challenge now is to get Americans to travel to areas of Asia that aren't affected by SARS."

But deals also are popping up in places that have been hit by SARS, including Singapore and Vietnam. And airlines, including the hard-hit Cathay Pacific Airways, which specializes in Asian routes, are offering discounts.

Both Singapore and the Vietnamese city of Hanoi were able to control SARS and are no longer listed by governments agencies or WHO as places to avoid traveling because of SARS.

U.S. airlines have not yet seen a rebound in travel in the Pacific/Asia region, even though SARS is slowing. Some major carriers, including United Airlines and Continental, said they have extended capacity cuts begun in March and April, when SARS first began to spread.

Pacific traffic on U.S. airlines is down 35 percent to 40 percent from last year, said the Air Transport Association, a U.S. industry group.

Getting SARS information

The following agencies have extensive information about SARS.

World Health Organization: The United Nations agency has been a leader in combating the disease, issuing SARS updates daily and sending public health teams to affected areas. www.who.int/en/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The U.S. health agency also has been in the forefront in fighting SARS and has extensive advice for travelers: www.cdc.gov

U.S. State Department: Provides country-by-country advice to travelers on the outbreak, supplementing CDC information: 888-407-4747, www.travel.state.gov

King County Health Dept.: General SARS tips plus information on suspected cases in King County. www.metrokc.gov/health

Written by Kristin Jackson, with reports from Reuters, Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times and other news services.