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)