Southern China's Guangdong Province has drawn up plans to boost its tourist industry by resuming traveling routes both within the province and to Hong Kong and Macao in the wake of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s decision to lift the travel advisory against it over the weekend, according to a news release Tuesday.

The revival of consumer confidence in the context of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the most important thing for tourism, said Zheng Tongyang, director of the Guangdong Tourism Bureau.

The measures taken by the bureau include proposing the establishment of new routes featuring fresh air, the creation of monthly promotions for tourists and the extension of invitations to front line medical workers to join the VIP routes.

Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have announced plans to hold a joint informational conference on tourism to strengthen the ties between the three sides and attract more tourists.

Since April 2, when the WHO issued a travel warning against Guangdong, most travel services in the province have gone out of business, generating significant losses for the travel industry.

Zheng estimates that the province can expect a marginal increase in tourists at the beginning of June, but the market will not return to normal until the National Day (October 1) holiday and only if SARS can be fully controlled throughout the country.

(Xinhua News Agency May 27, 2003)