Secretary-General of World Tourism Organization, Fancesco
Frangialli announced here Monday that after consultation with
Chinese government, the organization decided to hold this year's
assembly in Beijing in October.
At
a news conference of the International Cooperation for Tourism
Development Under A New Paradigm, which opened here Mondaymorning,
Frangialli said that the organization has recently be putunder the
frame of the United Nations, which is a strong encouragement to the
development of tourism.
The choice shows the organization's support for China's tourismand
other Asian countries which were affected by SARS.
He
said that although the exact date of the conference has not be
decided, the number of participants will not be less than that of
2002. Nearly 1,000 delegates from more than 130 countries and
regions participated in the meeting in 2002.
He
said leaders of many countries and international organizations
including UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan have beeninvited to
participate in the conference in Beijing.
Although tourism industry of the Asian-Pacific region has been
severely hit by the outbreak of SARS, Frangialli was optimistic
about the future of the industry and predicted a positive growth
this year. The number of tourists is expected to increase
remarkably in the second half of 2003.
He
said that he was one of the 64,000 tourists arriving at the Hong
Kong International Airport on July 13, and the figure was four
times higher than expected several months ago.
In
2002, more than 131 million international tourists traveled to
Asia, making Asia the second biggest destination after Europe.
He
said that with the steady economic growth in China and
rapidincrease of overseas tourists, China will become one of the
largest tourists sources in the coming years.
(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)
