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The Rolling Stones are set to step where the All Blacks fear to tread.
New Zealand's sevens rugby team may pull out of a tournament in Hong Kong because of the mystery pneumonia bug outbreak and the threat of war in Iraq.
But the Rolling Stones, who are due to play in Hong Kong the same weekend, insist their concerts will go ahead.
The coach of the New Zealand rugby team told the South China Morning Post the outbreak was a "real concern" and the team will decide later this week whether to cancel.
New Zealand are due to play in Hong Kong's annual Rugby Sevens tournament, which draws 40,000 rugby fans from around the world, from March 28 to March 30.
The Rolling Stones play Hong Kong the same weekend, performing two dates on March 28 and March 29, but their promoter told the newspaper they would not cancel.
"They recognise it is highly improbable the band or crew will be visiting the kind of areas where contamination is a risk," promoter Colleen Ironside said.
Story filed: 12:24 Tuesday 18th March 2003
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A long one
03/18 00:07
Hong Kong Tourism Threatened by Mystery Flu Outbreak (Update3)
By Christopher Evans
Hong Kong, March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong tourism, one of the twin pillars driving the territory's economic recovery, may be faltering as the outbreak of a mystery disease threatens to cut the city from tourists' itineraries.
The World Health Organization issued an advisory Saturday alerting travelers to the symptoms and signs of the disease, called severe acute respiratory syndrome. The disease has claimed nine lives and the United Nations agency has reports of over 450 suspected cases in Hong Kong, China, Canada, Singapore and Vietnam. Of these, about 400 are in Hong Kong and southern China.
The outbreak comes as officials and analysts predict a war in Iraq will curb international travel, threatening to leave Hong Kong with a reduced share of a shrinking market. Record tourist arrivals helped the economy expand 5 percent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter of 2002, its fastest growth in two years.
``Before this outbreak, we had already seen a slowdown,'' said James Lu, executive director of the Hong Kong Hotels Association. ``What we're seeing now is a marginal slowdown on all fronts. Is it due to the outbreak or to the war? My guess is both.''
U.S. President George W. Bush has given his Iraqi counterpart, Saddam Hussein, 48 hours to go into exile of face an attack, pushing the two countries to the brink of war. Bush said Iraq has supported terrorists, including the al-Qaeda network blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and won't comply with United Nations resolutions requiring it to disarm.
Package Tours
Package tour bookings to Hong Kong from within Southeast Asia are down 80 percent in recent days, according to Joseph Tung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. On average, Hong Kong receives about 150,000 visitors a month from Southeast Asia, he said.
``Booking has been very slow. Most people are hesitating before they make any bookings to Hong Kong.''
For Hong Kong, the disease could hardly have come at a worse time. The territory is due to host a Rolling Stones concert and its annual Rugby Sevens tournament the weekend after next, with both expected to draw overseas visitors. The Stones' promoter was cited in the South China Morning Post as saying the show would go ahead and rugby organizers said there are no plans to cancel.
Rugby Sevens
Beth Coalter, tournament coordinator for the Rugby Sevens, said participating teams have expressed concern about the disease outbreak but none have pulled out so far. Ticket sales have been steady, with 90 percent of the 40,000 on offer sold as of Friday, she said. The sponsoring Hong Kong Rugby Football Union said it will follow any instructions issued by government authorities.
Nury Vittachi, director of a week-long literary festival drawing more than 40 authors including Booker Prize winner Yann Mantel, said the flu ``has affected the festival. Fortunately not in a major way.''
Poets from Singapore and a Korean-American author decided not to come because of the flu. Poets from Hong Kong were going to have a face-off with those from Singapore on March 22. Since the Singaporean poets have pulled out, the Hong Kong poets have been declared the winners, Vittachi said.
The Singaporean poets decision to stay at home came even as the disease spreads at home. Singapore's Health Ministry announced it is dealing with 21 patients that have the illness, two of which are in a serious condition.
Symptoms of the disease include fever and breathing difficulties. Doctors say it is spread by coughing and sneezing.
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., the larger of Hong Kong's two airlines, said flight bookings and cancellations have not been noticeably affected.
``We haven't seen a significant decline. It's too early to tell,'' said Rosita Ng, a Cathay Pacific spokeswoman.
She said the company will screen all passengers, looking for people who exhibit symptoms of any type of sickness. The company's jets are equipped with air filters and Cathay has no plans to introduce additional measures at present.
Hotel occupancy rates are down this month from a year ago, after improving two percentage points in January and February, Hong Kong Hotels' Lu said. Last year 86 percent of the city's rooms were occupied in March, which is typically the best month of the year for Hong Kong hotels.
``The cancellations started after the World Health Organization issued an advisory over the weekend,'' said Therese Necio-Ortega, a spokeswoman for the Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong.
China, Vietnam
It is not just Hong Kong that tourists are staying away from. The U.S. government's Center for Disease Control and Prevention has advised Americans to avoid non-essential travel to China's Guangdong province and Vietnam's capital, Hanoi as well.
In Taiwan, customs and immigration officials have been told to wear masks and gloves, and passengers are being screened for signs of illness. The government has advised its citizens to avoid travel to Hong Kong, China and Vietnam.
The 232-room Sofitel Metropole Hotel in central Hanoi, the city's oldest hotel, has had 79 room nights canceled this month. Occupancy this week is more than 90 percent, but likely to fall to about 70 percent next week, said Charles Henri Chevet, the resident manager.
``Since Saturday, we have received some cancellations and some seminars have been postponed,'' Chevet said. ``For the last few days, we've had more cancellations than bookings.''
When plague struck India in 1994, claiming at least 56 lives, the World Health Organization issued an advisory and hotel occupancy dipped as low as 20 percent as more than 45,000 people canceled trips. That cost the Indian economy at least US$600 million, according to the World Resources Institute.
Shares of Cathay Pacific gained 1 percent to HK$11.00 by the close of the morning trading session after falling 4 percent yesterday. The airline confirmed today that one of its employees has contracted the disease.
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CHAT ROOM aka THE FUN HOUSE] [
RESTROOMS]