Singapore, June 24: The effects of SARS will plague Asian economies for months even though the disease has been contained because tourists will take longer to return to the region and higher unemployment will dampen spending, a report said today. However, it is the health of the US economy and other major markets which remain the key driver for the region's economic growth, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said in a report received here.
"Even without new outbreaks of SARS in the near future, the after-effects of the disease are likely to be felt for months to come," it said.

"Business travel to the region may rebound quickly but tourists from Europe and the US will take longer to return.”
"Jobs lost in tourism-related sectors, combined with a rather mixed outlook for visible exports, will have implications for unemployment and make local consumers more reluctant to spend."
EIU said it remained possible that SARS would "continue to disrupt some Asian manufacturing production in the coming months" but at the same time "economic developments in the US and other major markets are likely to be much more important for Asian growth."
Any new outbreak of SARS is expected to have less economic disruption in the region as governments have learned to deal with the menace, the EIU said. Bureau Report