SARS and Tourism in Hong Kong

SARS stand for Severe Acute Respiratory Illness. This illness, caused by a coronavirus, originated in China in 2002 and spread to Asia by 2003. SARS spread to several countries in Asia, South America, Europe and North America before the outbreak was contained. The illness is transmitted through respiratory droplets, when a person sneezes or coughs. Touching contaminated surfaces, and then touching your own mouth, nose or eyes can also spread the virus. The symptoms are similar to the flu and most patients develop pneumonia (Fact Sheet, 2004).

One industry that was particularly affected by SARS was the tourist industry. The Asian destinations suffered the most, particularly China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore (Clark, 2003). By May of 2003, the tourism business was significantly impacted, and perhaps Hong Kong was impacted the most. In Hong Kong, where there had been 299 deaths from SARS, the...
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