The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) has issued an emergency circular, ordering all domestic travel agencies to suspend procedures for touring Tibet Autonomous Region in an effort to prevent the spread of SARS there.
The CNTA allows overseas tour groups now in China to travel according to their planned routes, but forbids them to go to western or central parts of the country and rural areas.
The Tibetan Regional Tourist Bureau has also demanded that tourist groups having gone through procedures to visit the region return relevant documents to travel agencies as soon as possible.
Mainland travel agencies are not allowed to receive visitors from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and other parts of China, either.
Sources say Tibet is one of the five provinces or autonomous regions in China with no SARS cases or suspected SARS cases reported to date. These precautionary measures are for the benefit and well being of the local population and tourists alike.
Earlier, the State Council had dispatched its fifth SARS prevention supervision team to Tibet to help local authorities.
Leaders of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council have also recommended the transport of medicines and medical facilities to Tibet and urged further efforts towards SARS prevention.
(China.org.cn May 5, 2003)
