Jul. 8, 2003 - Airlines are stepping up flights to Asia and tour agents are hawking ridiculously low Hong Kong discounts, scrambling to restore a travel trade mutilated by fears of a mysterious illness. 

Nowhere has SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, hurt the tourist economy more than in Hong Kong, where 298 people reportedly died from the illness. May arrivals dropped more than 80 percent from last year, according to the government-run Hong Kong Tourism Board. 

With the surgical masks put away and travel warnings lifted, industry analysts said it may take more than a year to recover. 

It won't be for lack of effort. Buoyed by deep airline discounts and an aggressive government campaign to woo travelers, tour companies are pitching 2-for-1 Hong Kong deals as low as $888 for airfare, three-nights hotel stay and sightseeing excursions. Other countries in Asia are gearing up for similar promotions. 

Travel agents said they are starting to see a small ripple from the lifting of World Health Organization and State Department travel warnings. Most of the calls are from people rescheduling from earlier canceled plans, though some are bottom-fishing for the new deals. 

"The calls are numerous, but the bookings are a trickle," said Evan Chan, director of Ritz Tours, a high-volume Asia tour operator that saw an 80 percent loss of business from the SARS scare. 

"Most people who would even entertain travel to Asia are taking a wait-and-see attitude. We hope a 2-for-1 deal can overcome that apprehension." 

Of the 812 SARS deaths reported worldwide, 90 percent were in mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The WHO last week removed the last two places -- Toronto and Taiwan -- from its list of those affected by SARS, saying the global outbreak has been contained. 

Hong Kong tourism officials are aiming for a quick trans-Pacific boost, part of a long-term "response, reassurance and recovery plan." Many of the Hong Kong deals cover travel through September, but most must be booked by July 25 or sooner. They can be found at www.hkhotdeals.com. 

"It's just to get people over," said Lillibeth Bishop of the tourism board's Americas division. "The best way to overcome fear is to visit, or you will be living in fear all the time." 

Several airlines last week announced they would beef up flight schedules to Asia, and some are offering their own 2-for-1 deals. Among them: 

-- Cathay Pacific said it would return to a full pre-SARS schedule and will give away 10,000 tickets through the government promotion. The airline's own deals include a $499 round-trip to Hong Kong from San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. 

-- United, which had cut its Hong Kong flights from 21 to seven, will return to 18 flights on Aug. 1, airline officials said. United also will reinstate flights to Shanghai and other cities in Asia. It has no immediate plans to reinstate flights to Taipei and Singapore, which it cut by half this spring. 

-- Continental will resume the New York to Hong Kong run it shelved in April, with four flights a week and a pair of discount round-trip tickets for $888. 

The airlines are banking on a return of business travel, analysts said. Many companies that halted most trips across the Pacific are now lifting those restrictions. 

There is a natural recovery process when disaster strikes, said Jim Cammisa, publisher of Travel Industry Indicators, a Miami-based newsletter. It took about a year for England to recover from the foot-and-mouth disease scare in 2001, he said. 

"Business traffic comes back more quickly. I imagine you'll see a fairly strong and quick rebound there. On the leisure side, they may be putting their hopes out too high," said Cammisa. "If you're looking up from the bottom of the hill, you've got a long way to go." 

Corporate travel agents were heartened by the airlines' reversal from a pullout that stifled the market. 

"In some cases it was nonexistent, not only because people weren't flying, but the airlines gave them up and ceased service," said Steve Loucks, a national spokesman for Carlson Wagonlit Travel. 

"They may be losing money in the short run, but I think they want to be in that market," he said. "There is a prestige element." 

The SARS outbreak hit hard at San Francisco International Airport, which saw a 40 percent loss of Asia traffic, said airport spokesman Mike McCarron. There are new signs of life, said McCarron. 

"Most of the flights are going out full now. That wasn't happening three weeks ago," he said. "It looks like we're almost out of it." 

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(c) 2003, Contra Costa Times, Calif. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. CPCAY, UALAQ, CAL,