Taiwanese ventured out of a SARS-induced hibernation over the weekend, spurred on by a government announcement that the deadly virus may finally be under control.
Pedestrian traffic has been up markedly at shopping malls, restaurants and movie theaters over the past few days and travel agents are reporting a flurry of bookings from consumers keen on reviving shelved travel plans.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"This is the first time in the last six weeks we have visited a department store," said Tina Chung (鍾婷芸), a 32-year-old mother of two, dining at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store's (新光三越) food court near the Taipei railway station yesterday.
"The kids and I have been sick and tired of staying at home all day ... we needed to get out for a break," she said.
Consumers' concerns over SARS also eased after media reported that the rate of new SARS cases dropped last week.
"We saw a significant increase in traffic over the weekend," said Lee Kuang-rong (
Shoppers returned to Sogo en masse after the department store reopened, with traffic continuing to rebound to nearly 100,000 visitors per day over the weekend.
But the company has no plans to ease its strict SARS prevention procedures, including requiring all staff to wear masks and customers to have their temperatures checked at the door.
"We won't cancel these procedures until SARS is no longer a threat to Taiwan," Lee said.
The positive news, if warranted, could cushion the blow of nearly seven weeks of lethargic sales at Taiwanese consumer-dependent businesses after the disease spread following the closure of Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital on April 24.
Out on the town
Consumers since then have been slowly venturing back to their favorite watering holes and eateries.
All five of Taipei's Tasty restaurants (
"Our five restaurants have been packed since last week after the government announcement," said Simon Kao (
Taiwanese restaurant chain Shin Yeh (
Shin Yeh saw 30 percent more tables full last week compared to the previous month, said deputy marketing manager Erica Chen (
In late April, a Ministry of Economic Affairs report predicted that the restaurant sector would be hardest hit by the disease outbreak, with sales down by more than 20 percent in the current quarter.
Night owls are also coming out of the woodwork to liven up Taipei's all-night club scene.
"With SARS fears seeming to ease a bit, business rose by 10 percent last weekend," said Andy Chuang (
Taipei's Plush disco said more than business was up more than two-thirds on Saturday after falling being 50 percent down the previous weekend.
"I believe as long as SARS is contained, people will come back to enjoy the night life," said Junior Lin (
One weekend warrior was ready to return to the party.
"Now I feel more comfortable hanging out with my friends in nightclubs like we used to," said Ann Lin (
Cinema-goers too appeared to heading back to the big screen over the past weekend as SARS fears took a back seat to entertainment.
"Viewer traffic in our Taipei theater over the past weekend rose by around 14 percent from 12,000 to 14,000," said a Warner Village cinema official who asked not to be named.
That number is still down from, on average, 20,000 customers that usually pack the halls of Warner Village on the weekend, the official said.
The theater has held off on new releases until movie-goer traffic is stable, Warner Village cinema operation manager Jessie Chou (
Reviving travel plans
Meanwhile, travel bookings to SARS-free destinations have swelled over the past few days as the public choose to jumpstart vacation plans delayed because of the infectious disease.
"Bookings for flights to Bali are about 90 percent full in June," said Frank Chen (
"Most people have gradually accepted that travel by air does not increase the risk of contracting SARS," Chen said.
Bookings to Thailand's Phuket island also saw substantial growth over the past week, said Lee Lo-sheng (
"Phuket became very popular these days, and there is growing interest in holiday destinations that are viewed as safe to visit such as Australia and New Zealand," Lee said.
Longwaytour Travel is offering budget travel packages to Phuket with China Airlines Co (
"Bookings are about 80-90 percent full on flights to Phuket this month," Lee said.
According to government statistics, the number of passengers passing through Chiang Kai-shek International Airport totalled 8,362 on Sunday, compared with around 6,500 a week ago.
Officials have said the nation is appealing to the World Health Organization to lift its travel warning against the country by June 20.
"The outbreak seems to be nearly over but it would be premature to say we're free of SARS just because the daily number of new cases was in single digits over the past few days," said Ingrid Chen (
Despite the apparent containment of the infectious virus, consumers are expected to remain cautious on spending, an Academia Sinica economist said yesterday.
"The worst may be over [regarding the spread of SARS], but deep in their hearts people know that the virus is still around and therefore may not be able to totally relax," said Wu Chung-shu (
"Learning from the experience of Toronto and Singapore, Taiwanese know that the epidemic may come back to haunt them," Wu said.
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