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SARS: 'Now I have time to read the
classified ads'
HONG KONG -
Joanna Sze, a front-line escort for one of the largest
tourist agencies in Hong Kong, describes the industry's
present situation as "nightmarish" and "surreal" because
of the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS). "It is not just that many customers canceled
their tours, it is the mood. My colleagues have become
so scared that they developed compulsive behavior such
as washing their hands and cleaning their tables
incessantly - that is, every time they served a
customer," she said.
The tourism industry is the
sector of the Hong Kong economy that has been hit
hardest by SARS and, as with other hard-hit industries,
retail shops and restaurants, employees are required to
have frequent face-to-face contact with their clients
because of their job nature. They are therefore one of
the high-risk groups in the SARS crisis. To prevent the
spread of SARS, her company split every team into two,
so that if one member of a team is infected by SARS, the
whole team can be replaced immediately.
"Thanks
to SARS, all my colleagues are depressed and in no mood
to spend money and relax after work," Sze said. She and
her colleagues are not just worried about the disease.
They are also concerned about their jobs. Because of
fierce competition and a poor economy, many tourist
agencies, especially the small ones, are barely
surviving. Cash turnover is their lifeblood and now with
so many tours canceled, the requirement to refund and
the lack of cash inflow may trigger the collapse of the
financially unsound agencies.
"I heard some
agencies are unable to pay their staff on time after the
SARS outbreak," Sze said. She is working for one of the
dominant agencies, but tour bookings are so bad that her
colleagues have been asked to take leave. "Some have to
take leave for a week and others are working
half-weeks," she said.
Her senior colleagues
told her it is the worst time they have ever seen in
their entire careers. If the crisis persists after the
Easter holiday, there will be a lot of job cuts, they
predicted.
However dark the prospect may be, Sze
has discovered one positive thing. "I did not study
tourism in college and it has never been my career
choice. Before the outbreak, I was too lazy to read the
classified ads. Now, I have more spare time, I study the
ads and send out job applications. Perhaps I can find a
job I really love after this," she said with an ironic
smile.
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