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Singapore: Tourism hit by war, virus
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- War in Iraq and a mysterious flu-like virus in Asia are cutting deeply into Singapore's tourist arrivals, especially from Europe and the United States, tourism industry officials said on Tuesday. Tourism, one of the biggest service industries in the island nation of four million people, generates more than S$10 billion ($5.68 billion) in revenue annually, or about five percent of Singapore's gross domestic product. "Our preliminary statistics for the first three weeks of March show that visitor arrivals from the long-haul markets have been more affected than that of regional markets," a spokesman from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) told Reuters. Singapore has ordered almost 750 citizens to remain at home in an attempt to contain the fast-spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, that has killed more than 20 people worldwide. "The decline is likely a result of the combined effects of SARS and the US-Iraq war," the tourism board spokesman said. The board said that if the U.S.-Iraq war was swift, and the global economy not badly affected, visitor arrivals and tourism receipts would remain in its forecast range of between a fall of one percent to growth of three percent in 2003. Travel agents in Singapore told Reuters the outbreak of the mystery virus had hurt bookings to destinations like Hong Kong and Guangzhou, but they believed the impact was short term. Despite fare promotions, initial estimates from the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) showed that sales from its recent three-day travel fair saw as much as a 50 percent drop due to a lower turnout. The fair generated sales of around S$10-15 million compared to S$15-20 million last year, according to Jason Ng, marketing manager at the travel association. "This year's visitorship was about 28,000 from 38,000 last year, which accounted for the drop in bookings," he said. Kelly Toh, assistant advertising and promotions manager at SA (UIC), reported a slightly smaller drop in bookings at her firm, one of Singapore's largest travel agencies. "There was a 20-30 percent drop in bookings at the recent travel fair compared to last year," she said. "But there were also some people who booked holidays to Hong Kong and Guangzhou in June because they feel that it (virus) is a short-term thing." Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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