Yesterday, the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) announced that has picked up a new probable SARS case which appears to be a single, isolated case. In response to this announcement…
Yesterday, the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) announced that has picked up a new probable SARS case which appears to be a single, isolated case. In response to this announcement Jean-Claude Baumgarten, President of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) issued the following statement:
The Travel & Tourism industry is absolutely confident that the Singapore authorities, who have previously demonstrated their professionalism and coordinated response to effectively contain and eliminate the SARS outbreak
earlier in the year, will take the necessary and appropriate measures to once again deal with the latest situation.
For our industry, it is reassuring that after several months of no SARS cases, the Singapore authorities are still very much on top of the issue and closely watching the general population and incoming visitors for any signs of re-emerging cases. The immediate isolation of the Singapore-based medical researcher and his contacts shows that the diligence is still there and that the authorities will take every measure necessary to make sure SARS
does not re-emerge.
I congratulate the Singapore Health Ministry and the World Health Organization for taking these significant actions to protect the general population, the economy and our industry in Singapore from a repeat of last spring`s devastating blow.
WTTC research, released in May 2003, indicated that Singapore Travel & Tourism was expected to suffer a 43% loss in Gross Domestic Product contribution and 17,500 jobs this year as a result of SARS.
As a sign of support and confidence for Singapore and its handling of both the SARS outbreak earlier in the year and this recent case, WTTC is sending Richard Miller, Vice President of Research and Economics to Singapore to
discuss the opportunities for Travel & Tourism in eveloping countries to a meeting of 100 industry CEOs. Richard Miller said, Post-SARS, the outlook for Travel & Tourism growth in Asia-Pacific generally and Singapore
specifically is outstanding. The industry has been and will continue to be a leading catalyst for economic growth and job creation.
According to Worrld Health Organisation (WHO) the case does not fulfil the case definition for SARS under the new WHO guidelines post-SARS.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
