The latest survey conducted by the Beijing municipal statistics bureau indicates that the city's service industry, which was deeply affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), showed signs of recovery in June.
The survey showed that, among the 426 businesses surveyed, the rate of business temporary closures dropped from 21 percent in May to 8.2 percent in June.
The aggregate business volume of those surveyed, although dropping 19.7 percent year-on-year after climbing to 1.1 billion yuan (US$133 million US dollars) in June, was still an improvement over May's year-on-year drop of 43.2 percent.
The survey shows that barber shops, beauty salons, bathhouses and entertainment centers all experienced quick recovery last month, along with the computer and consulting industries.
The 93 computer service providers and consulting companies, through raking in 810 million yuan (US$98 million US dollars) and 70 million yuan (8.4 million US dollars) in revenue each, registered respective year-on-year growth rates of 27.2 percent and 21.2 percent.
Although Beijing's tourist industry is recovering following the lifting of restrictions on visits by Chinese travelers by some77 countries, tourism-related business carriers, including hotels, tourist agencies and scenic spots, are in the midst of a slow recovery with business volume well below that of last year's.
A survey conducted in 15 hotels in the city's eastern district shows that the occupancy rate climbed to 19 percent in June from 5percent in May, still far below the 50 percent average in Shanghai.
The 37 tourist agencies registered combined revenue of 30.4 million yuan (US$3.7 million) in June, down a considerable90.6 percent from the same period last year.
(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)
