The city's tourism industry is expected to completely recover from the effects of SARS by next year, the Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission said yesterday.

That accords with the state government's plan for a nationwide industry rebound in 2005, officials told a tourism industry conference.

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome crippled the local sightseeing business. In May, the city only received 30,000 overseas tourists, a 90 percent drop year-on-year, officials said.

However, starting in July, there has been a revival as tourists from overseas reached 180,000, 67 percent of the figure for the same period last year, according to Yao Mingbao, the commission director.

"The only way to compensate for the loss we suffered during SARS is to take advantage of upcoming events, such as the Shanghai Tourism Festival, to draw more visitors," Vice Mayor Tang Dengjie told the conference yesterday.

In addition, a "Rainbow Plan" has been launched to promote Shanghai as a good destination, where invites have been sent to overseas tour operators to visit the city.

"This will give managers of overseas travel agencies a chance to see the city and bring back more tourists," said Hans R. Hauri, Shanghai JC Mandarin's general manager.

(eastday.com August 27, 2003)