Tourism authorities yesterday assured people that it was safe to visit the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region because Monday's terrorist attack in Kashgar was an isolated incident.

Du Jiang, deputy director of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), said the attack that killed 16 policemen had not made the region unsafe for tourists. Besides, the government had tightened security further for the safety of residents and tourists both.

"The CNTA will issue a notice on its website as soon as it becomes necessary to alert tourists," he told a press conference.

The CNTA issued a notice after the March 14 riots in Lhasa, warning tourists not to travel to Tibet.

The government has asked hotels, travel agencies and officials at every scenic spot to be on high alert to ensure tourists' safety, Du said.

Tourism administration officials in Beijing and the other five mainland Olympic co-host cities, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Qingdao and Qinhuangdao, will be on 24-hour duty to deal with any emergency. Moreover, the cities' tourism officials have already set up a quick complaint handling mechanism.

Beijing expects 400,000 to 500,000 overseas tourists for the Games. Altogether, the country is expecting 6-7 million VIPs, athletes, sports officials, journalists and tourists, and Thursday will see the maximum number of arrivals, Xiong Yumei, director-general of the Beijing tourism administration, said.

(China Daily August 6, 2008)