The knife attack on two United States tourists on Saturday in downtown Beijing was being properly dealt with and the incident would not have a significant negative impact on China's tourism or image, an official said on Tuesday.
"The attack was an isolated and incidental criminal case, which had no direct linkage to the tour organization or tourism activities. It had no relation with the Beijing Olympics either," Wang Zhifa, the National Tourism Administration deputy director, told a press conference.
On Saturday, a man stabbed two American tourists -- one fatally -- and a Chinese tour guide in downtown Beijing. The attacker then killed himself by jumping from the second story of the historic Drum Tower, a popular tourist site, a spokesman with the Beijing Municipal Government Information Office said.
The attacker was identified as 47-year-old Tang Yongming from the eastern city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, according to an ID card found on his body.
"The attack drew the attention of Chinese leaders and government. It is being dealt with properly, and (we) have won understanding and support from various parties concerned," he said.
The incident prompted government to enhance organization of tourism activities and strengthen security of the tourists, he added.
According to Wang, with the arrangement of the Beijing city government, the relatives of the deceased had come to Beijing and the two injured were being treated with the best medical services. The two injured women were in stable condition.
China received 132 million inbound trips last year, ranking the fourth in the world. The figure in the first half of this year reached 64.9 million, and more overseas tourists are expected after the Beijing Olympic Games, Wang said.
Research on the tourism development of the previous Olympic host cities showed that athletes, coaches and sports fans would take up a large part of tourists during the Olympics, while the peak period for tourism would come after the Games closed.
The average occupation rate of Beijing's hotels reached 81.2 percent, and the peak rate has yet to come.
"Tourist sectors across China have improved the infrastructure and overseas tourists would enjoy better services," Wang said, "Tourist sites in Sichuan Province, except those in severely-hit areas, have been open to the public."
With its spectacular natural scenery, Sichuan has five sites on the UN World Heritage List. But it suffered direct economic loss of 46.5 billion yuan (6.8 billion U.S. dollars) in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake in May. More than 300 tourist destinations, 1,300 hotels and 200 tourism service centers were damaged.
Wang said the State Council, or China's Cabinet, has decided to earmark large funds and adopt preferential tax policies to boost tourism during the recovery and reconstruction of the quake-hit zone.
"I am confident the beauty of these areas will return in three years," Wang said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)