Singapore: Still open for business

New figures have shown that the Sars outbreak cut visitor numbers to Singapore by three-quarters last week, reinforcing fears over the economic impact of the disease.

The Singapore Tourism Board said on Monday that visitor numbers between April 22 and April 28 had fallen to 32,800, down 74% on the same period last year.

The decline spells trouble for Singapore's tourism industry, one of the city state's biggest revenue earners with annual turnover of about $9bn (�5.6bn).

Singapore's Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong, has said the outbreak could cost the country about $1.5bn this year alone.

Hotel occupancy rates in Singapore are reported to have fallen to about 25% from a usual average of 70% at this time of year.

Health fears

The decline in visitor numbers follows a spate of health warnings to travellers bound for south-east Asia.

It also reflects a decision by the city authorities to cancel many scheduled events in an effort to halt the global spread of the disease.

There was a particularly sharp drop in visitors from Japan, the US, Hong Kong, and mainland China - thought to be the source of the disease.

Sars has killed 25 Singaporeans and infected 173 more over the past two months.

The economic impact of the Sars outbreak was highlighted earlier on Monday when Dutch airline KLM said passenger numbers on its Asia-Pacific routes fell 24% in April compared with last year.

Separately, Hong-Kong based Cathay Pacific said it would halve its annual shareholder dividend, blaming Sars and the Iraq war.