Summer courses in doubt if pneumonia infections continue
The Sars scare is disrupting plans for overseas summer camps in August as young people opt to stay home instead of improving language skills or increasing their cultural depth.
'People in Hong Kong are concerned about eating out in a local restaurant, let alone travelling overseas,' said Tong Leung Wing-chun, general-manager STA Travel. 'If the Sars infection rate fails to slow down by the end of May, our summer camps in Beijing, Zuhai and Guangzhou might be cancelled.'
Maggie Wong May-kay, a co-ordinator for Etherton Education, said a popular English language course at Wellington School in the UK was in doubt after 28 of the original 50 students pulled out, leaving seven undecided and only 15 confirmed.
Events around the world are compounding the difficulties facing programme organisers. 'First it was the economy, then the war and now Sars,' said Sue Burgess, who heads Anzec, a local company which organises annual 18-day English language training courses in August on the Gold Coast, Australia.
'Bookings are unbelievably slow,' she said.
Tour operators said the summer was an ideal time for young people to travel. 'An overseas summer camp would give young people respite,' said Ms Burgess. 'People have been hunkered down and cooped up at home for too long.'
