Gannett News Service

With SARS travel advisories now lifted throughout Asia except Beijing, many destinations where tourism has suffered are attempting to woo visitors back with phenomenal deals.

It's possible to visit Hong Kong for less than $100 a day, including airfare. Singapore has launched no-minimum-bid online auctions for all-inclusive packages. And Thailand has buy-one-get- one-free offers at some hotels. Many of the deals are good through summer but must be booked soon.

During a typical summer, economy airfares from the United States to Asia would cost in the $1,000 range. But airlines are slashing fares by as much as 50 percent to fill seats as they reinstate flights eliminated at the height of the SARS epidemic.

The virus has caused 801 deaths worldwide. And though that tally is relatively low, SARS has had a devastating effect on tourism in Asia. An estimated 5 million tourism-related jobs have been lost this year, the Pacific Asia Travel Association estimates. Airline passenger loads to the region dropped by up to 70 percent. And overall reservations in Asia are down 30 percent to 40 percent this year, according to the World Tourism Organization.

Even countries that weren't subject to World Health Organization travel advisories have suffered. Travel to Indonesia was down a third in April. In Bali, where vacationers were beginning to trickle back after a terrorist bombing in October decimated tourism, arrivals dropped 24 percent from March to April.

But with world health ex-perts declaring that the SARS outbreak appears to be under control, travel purveyors are cautiously optimistic that visitors will return soon. For example, Singapore Airlines, which had cut almost half its flights from North America by early May, says it expects to restore most service by August.

China's tourism rebound is likely to take longer than other parts of Asia, because WHO still advises postponing non-essential travel to Beijing. Still, airline bookings are beginning to pick up.

In recent months, passenger loads on China Eastern Airlines' Los Angeles-Shanghai flight had dipped below 30 percent. (On one flight, the crew outnumbered the passengers, a spokesman says.) Earlier this month, however, the airline's passenger loads were approaching 70 percent, though it had cut its daily flights to three a week.