The
Severe
Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) disease which has occurred in
some provinces of China is under effective control and tourism is
safe in the country, a senior tourism official said Friday.
Deputy Director Sun Gang of the National Tourism Administration
(NTA) said the NTA and tourism management departments across China
would cooperate with health authorities to enhance
epidemic-prevention work in scenic areas, sightseeing spots, hotels
and vehicles to eliminate any possibility of infection.
All tourism activities in China were continuing as normal, said Sun
at a briefing attended by staff of representative offices of
overseas tourism agencies and airline companies.
The governments of some foreign countries had tried to persuade
their citizens not to visit China, Sun said, which caused the
cancellation of a number of package tours to China.
Statistics from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong, China's three
major ports of entry, show that by April 3, about 136,000 tourists
had called off their arranged visits to China.
However these abrogations would not severely affect China's tourism
industry, which catered for several million tourists each month,
Sun said, adding that a large number of overseas tourists came to
China despite their governments' warnings.
China's Health Minister Zhang Wenkang told Chinese and foreign
reporters Thursday that it was safe to work, tour and live in
China.
The minister's remarks were the "most authoritative," Sun said,
adding that Chinese tourism sectors would try their best to arrange
the upcoming "Golden Week" for tourism, China's week-long holiday
from May 1.
"A
well-organized holiday, with millions of people traveling around
the vast country, will show the world that tourism in China is
secure and healthy," Sun said.
Statistics from the NTA indicate that China is the largest market
for domestic tourism and in the January-February period this year,
overseas tourists to China increased 9.25 percent year-on-year,
with the number of foreign visitors jumping 25.09 percent.
(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2003)