Hi Jay,
On local television tonight, there was a brief story on Hong Kong tourism, and the upcoming Easter holidays, which apparently is one of the really big holidays in Hong Kong, equivalent to the Fourth of July or Memorial Day weekend in the USA. The reporter was saying that many Hong Kong resorts and hotels are currently operating at under 30% of capacity, and that cancellations for the Easter holidays are far outrunning any new bookings. At the current rates, the hotel manager in Hong Kong estimated that he might end up with less than 10% occupancy rate, whereas normal would be 100% full with a waiting list for last minute cancellations. Restaurants, bars, hotels, resorts, shopping centers, movie theatres, tourist attractions, just about everything is affected. The reporter was saying that mass layoffs will be impossible to avoid, and that the layoffs would in turn trigger an even larger downturn in the local Hong Kong economy. It was a very depressing report, after which the reporter announced that today, the State Department advised against any travel to China for whatever reason. I guess that this SARS episode is just a small glimpse at what the future might hold for other regions of the world.
KJC |
