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China's tourism industry will overcome the difficulties caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) with the country's vast social, economic and cultural resources, said He Guangwei, director of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
Just came back to Beijing from a meeting of the World Tourism Organization held in Spain, He said SARS was a major challenge for China's tourism industry, but the Chinese people were unified in their efforts to fight the disease. China was willing to strengthen cooperation with other countries and international organizations to fight SARS and China's tourism would recover soon.
He said SARS would not stop China's rapid social and economic development. China's foreign currency reserves were the highest in the world and the economy was growing steadily. When China joined the World Trade Organization, the market potential became greater and the investment environment improved.
He said SARS had only a minor impact on China's economy and would not last long. Once the disease was under control, consumer confidence would recover with increased demand in the tourism and catering industries.
The Chinese government had adopted a series of measures to support the tourism industry, including reducing government fees and operational taxes.
(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2003)
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