Clockwise from top: A group of mainland tourists enjoy the view on the Peak, a must for first-time visitors to Hong Kong; a local resident browses over package tours offered by a travel agency; customers and sales agents discuss packages. Edmond Tang

Amid the daily reports of new cases of A (H1N1) flu, as health authorities issue frequent admonitions urging stringent measures to prevent the bug from spreading, people in Hong Kong are uneasy. The flu scare has hit tourism hard. People are afraid to go anywhere, so they cancel travel plans and stay put.

Travel agents hear it all the time as customers call to cancel travel plans to destinations where swine flu has struck. The number of destinations affected keeps growing. Japan, a popular destination for Hong Kong tourists, is now all but blacklisted since A (H1N1) took hold there and spread quickly.

Lau Mei-sze, general manager for the Hong Thai Travel Services Limited, looks at his ledger and counts over 30 customers who cancelled tours to Japan by the third week of May. Only 30 per cent opted for different destinations. The rest chose to stay home. And go nowhere.

"Compared to last year, there's a 70 percent drop in our package tour business to the US, Canada and Japan," Lau added. "Overall there's an uptrend in our customers canceling or changing their trips."

The impact is also evident in declining airline ticket sales. Statistics provided by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong (TIC), show a 50 percent drop in airline ticket sales in Hong Kong in May from a year earlier.

Some travel agencies, including Hong Thai, have introduced travel insurance schemes that offer coverage for travelers infected by A (H1N1) during their trips. Mandy Chung, a 21-year-old student who cancelled her holiday to Japan, thinks it is better safe than sorry.

"Personally I'm not worried about getting the virus. I live with my family and they don't want me to go," Chung remarked. "It's not Japan they're worried about; it's the flight to Japan with travelers from other countries who may be sick."

Lindsay Kwan, a 24-year-old secretary who takes frequent business trips, said her boss is reducing work travel for staff members. Kwan said the move is a precaution since the company is small and the loss of a single member of the staff due to illness can exact a heavy toll.

"It's the possibility of being quarantined that bothers us, if we happen to be on the same flight as someone who has the bug," Kwan explained. "What if we get locked up for a week and can't return to work?"

There is an even sharper decline in the number of incoming tourists. According to TIC's figures, there has been a 75 percent drop in the number of incoming tours in May. That translates into 200,000 fewer tourists on a year-to-year comparison with 2008.

"There were only 20 tours coming in from the mainland in the first two weeks of May," TIC chairman Ronnie Ho said. "Usually there are 150 to 200 tour groups from the mainland even during non-peak seasons."

Hong Kong Inbound Travel Association Limited Chairman Leung Yiu-sum concurred with Ho. "It's been a very significant decrease in our business in May. The number of visitors from Europe has dropped by 50 percent."

The storm is also hitting the hospitality industry. Executive Director for The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners Michael Li stated that the business decline among local hotels in May is even graver than during the terrible days of the SARS outbreak in 2003.

"Currently, the average occupancy of local hotels is only 50 percent, even though the hotels have lowered their rates by 10 to 30 percent" Li elaborated. "It's just as bad for six- or five-star hotels as for three- or two-star hotels."

Leung also noted that there are numerous cancellations of hotel bookings by foreign travelers. "Overall an estimated 20 per cent of travelers is cancelling their trips to Hong Kong. Discounts from five-star hotels aren't helping much."

Lily Chen, a 23-year-old graduate student from Shanghai, is one of those cautious travelers. She originally planned to visit a relative working in Hong Kong in early June, but had second thoughts over recent reports of A (H1N1) infection in the city.

"Hong Kong is a very clean city, but there seem to be more and more Hongkongers returning from overseas who're infected with the virus," Chen said. "At this stage, I'd rather not wander around the Hong Kong airport."

Eileen Cheng, a 26-year-old graphic designer from Hong Kong who lives in Australia, has abandoned her plans to visit friends and family in her hometown in July owing to the pandemic scare.

"We have swine flu here too. If any one of us gets sick when I go to Hong Kong, it's hard to say who infected who," Cheng contended. "My family believed there will be an outbreak within the community in Hong Kong very soon."

Amid the numbers swept up in the swine flu anxiety, there are others who remain undaunted. Edith Ching, a 27-year-old interior designer, is gearing up for her month-long trip with two friends to Europe in July.

"We planned it months ago and there's no way we'd cancel. None of us is fazed by swine flu; if we get it (overthere) we can get it in Hong Kong, too," Ching reasoned. "When the atmosphere in Hong Kong gets gloomy, we might as well go traveling and have fun."

Mike Chow, a 31-year-old accountant, is looking forward to seeing Tokyo in June. "You get better deals on plane tickets and hotels, which are usually quite expensive in Tokyo," he said. "I'm down with it once I get my leave application approved."

It is hoped that some of this carefree determination will turn up in incoming tourists as well - those who would like to benefit from the discounts at luxury hotels and restaurants around town. Steven Liu, an editor from Singapore, is enjoying his stay in Hong Kong.

"Some of the fancy restaurants in Central have definitely lowered their prices from when I came here last year, though part of it may be the financial crisis,' Liu observed. "I'll do more shopping this time too; the sales are on early."

Liu's fellow traveler, Alice Yeo, is confident that she is relatively safe in Hong Kong among all the places where there has been reported case of A (H1N1) in Asia. Yeo noted the efficiency at the Hong Kong International Airport, citing custom officers in particular.

"The Hong Kong airport is always so clean and efficient. The officers are very helpful too," Yeo said. "Sometimes you just need to travel, flu scare or not. Hong Kong has a few cases here and there like most other cities. I'm not worried."

(HK Edition 05/30/2009 page3)