Hm, seems you are right. I just skimmed these specific references for quotes. I do clearly remember to have read about travel-bans backfiring but can't right now locate suitable sources. This at least provides specific lessons learned:

QUARANTINE AND ISOLATION: LESSONS LEARNED FROM SARS http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/blaw/cdc/SARS_REPORT.pdf

1. Travel restrictions Lessons Learned Restrictions on travel are essential in limiting the geographic range of an epidemic, yet travel restrictions involve the difficult balancing of public health with human rights and economic interests. Further, the marginal public health benefit from ratcheting up restrictions may not be predictable. All of the countries we studied followed the WHO recommendation concerning exit and entrance screening for SARS, addressing ground and sea as well as air travel. Under the intense pressure of the SARS outbreak, many countries were forced to adopt novel approaches to population risk assessment and disease containment, including thermal screening to identify febrile persons at risk for SARS. The countries we studied placed restrictions of varying stringency on domestic travel. News of the global SARS epidemic caused the voluntary curtailment of international travel to affected areas. Travel advisories and travel alerts from WHO and individual countries helped to provide timely and accurate information.