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World Travel & Tourism Council

SARS has a massive impact on travel&tourism in affected destinations

At The 3rd Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Vilamoura, Portugal, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released a special report on…

At The 3rd Global Travel & Tourism Summit in Vilamoura, Portugal, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released a special report on the economic impact of SARS on the Travel & Tourism industry in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam.



This special WTTC report has quantified the impact of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) on the four countries where the World Health Organization has declared travel advisories.



The WTTC estimates are based on WTTC`s recently released 2003 Tourism Satellite Accounting research, which is produced with Oxford Economic Forecasting. They show that the impact will be massive.



WTTC/OEF has estimated that in 2003:


  • In Vietnam 15 per cent of industry GDP and 62,000 industry jobs will be lost.

  • In Singapore, 43 per cent of industry GDP and 17,500 industry jobs will be lost.

  • In Hong Kong, 41 per cent of industry GDP will be lost, as well as 27,000 industry jobs, representing 38 per cent of total industry jobs in Hong Kong.

  • In China, 25 per cent of the industry GDP will be lost and a total of 2.8 million industry jobs, or one fifth of total industry employment.


The WTTC/OEF research is based on the SARS crisis beginning to significantly impact Travel & Tourism in March 2003 and lasting 6 months in China, 4 months in Hong Kong and Singapore, and 3 months in Vietnam, with residual impacts through the end of 2004. The largest impact in each destination is felt in visitor exports from the loss of inbound traffic, while other impacts are also identified in the decline of personal and business travel by residents and local companies, as well as the postponement of certain capital investment.



Richard Miller, Vice President of Research and Economics for WTTC said, The SARS crisis in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam is perhaps the most dramatic prolonged shutdown of the industry on record. Only the 9/11 events in the United States can serve as a point of reference and the SARS impact is 5 times greater. Although we do not expect the impact to be permanent, and in fact expect a return to normal levels of business by 2005, the short-term impact is unprecedented.



Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President of the WTTC said, Our industry faces an enormous challenge in rebuilding these huge losses to the industry and the economies of these countries. We call on the public and private sectors in these countries and serving these countries to join forces and help restore visitor confidence and traffic at the earliest possible moment.

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