ECONOMIC EFFECT OF SARS
Economics Essay The Impact of the Sars virus “Sars will knock you backward, it may even kill you, but I can tell you SARS can kill the economy, and all of us will be killed by the collapsing of the economy” - Prime minister of Hong Kong.  In November 2002 a flu like virus called Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) hit Canada, Hong Kong, China and Vietnam (China and Hong Kong having most cases because of responding too slowly to the illness. ... The impact on their tourism activity had been severe as SARS led to a 47% decline in the activity. Holidays were cancelled by people planning to visit and a number of concerts were cancelled in Hong Kong due to fears of the SARS virus. 12 deaths were recorded in a single day from the SARS virus and it said to be similar to ’World War III’. ... To show the impact of the virus to the economy I have a number of examples: A) A supply and demand diagram showing how the SARS virus affected hotel occupancy rates: The market for accommodation in Hong Kong rapidly decreased. ... Occupancy rates at Hong Kongs five-star hotels had plunged to between 8 per cent and 10 per cent since the SARS outbreak.