Taiwanese steer clear of Hong Kong

Airline to Hong Kong slowed to a trickle yesterday as reports spread of increasing Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infection globally.

The as yet untreatable disease has claimed 9 lives worldwide so far and over 100 people in Hong Kong are infected.

"Today daily tour package bookings to Hong Kong dropped 70 percent over last week," said Lu Hsin-fa (呂新發), an executive at Eztravel.com, one the of nation's major online ticketing centers.

Last Friday the company started to receive calls regarding the disease in Hong Kong, he said, and about 10 percent of customers have cancelled their paid reservations.

Concerned the pneumonia-like disease is being spread by air travelers, the World Health Organization (WHO) over the weekend issued an emergency travel advisory encouraging travelers and airline crew to be on the lookout for symptoms including high fever and respiratory problems.

On Saturday, Taiwan's Center for Disease Control urged the public to avoid unnecessary travel to Hong Kong, China, Vietnam and Singapore.

Fear the sickness has caused many tourists to postpone travel.

"Consumers are uneasy about the disease and most call to postpone their trips to early next month," said Tiffany Yu (虞琦), a representative from Ezfly.com an online ticketing firm.

Canceling NT$10,000 ticket would result in a refund of some NT$7,000 after commission, booking charge and visa fee is deducted, she said.

A Hong Kong representative in Taiwan, meanwhile, sought to reassure the public yesterday that the disease is under control.

"Tourists don't have to be panic ... we are not talking about any disease "outbreak" in Hong Kong," said Jessica Huang (黃莉惠), director of Hong Kong Tourism Board in Taiwan.

She stressed that even though WHO has issued the travel advisory, Hong Kong is not identified as the source of the disease or targeted as an infected city.

Last year 2.4 million Taiwanese visited Hong Kong second to China with 6.8 nationals visiting Hong Kong last year.

"Taiwanese mean a lot to Hong Kong tourism industry," Huang said.

In late February, the Hong Kong tourism board -- looking to boost inbound arrivals -- began offering cut-rate tours.

The three-day, two-night package on Cathay Pacific Airways (國泰航空) is priced at NT$6,900. The promotion started on March 1 and will end through March 30.

Outbreak news has all but killed the promotion.

"Today we received no orders for the special package trip to Hong Kong, while last week we received about 10 orders per day," Lu said.

The nation's travel agents also urged consumers to stay calm.

"The disease has only speeded within a small area in Hong Kong where no tourist spots are located," said Tseng Sheng-hai (曾盛海), chairman of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents.

At CKS International Airport, staff have been reminded to be on the lookout for ill travelers.

"We've asked all staff at check-in counters to be alert to any passengers that look abnormal or have respiratory problems," said Joseph Wu (武志厚), a China Airlines Co (華航) official.