Beijing welcomes first package tour
3/6/2003 16:57
Twenty-one tourists with an Australian package tour organized by the
China International Travel Service Head Office gave a cheer as they stepped onto
the Great Wall yesterday, and then they enjoyed roast-duck in the Beijing
Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant.
Arriving in Beijing on May 30, it was the
first package tour to the city since the SARS outbreak.
The Beijing
tourism sector has begun to recover now that the food service and retail sectors
have regained strength.
All the employees from the China Comfort
International Travel Service and China International Travel Service (CITS) are
back to work to prepare for the tourism boom.
"We are currently busy
working out the plan for the second half of the year," said an employee with
China Comfort International Travel Service. "As the National Tourism
Administration still restricts overseas travel, we cannot organize overseas
package tours in the short term," the employee said.
The ban has been
lifted on Guangdong tourists going to Hong Kong and Macau, so the staff members
in charge of those tours are very busy, the employee added.
"We have
drawn up anti-SARS measures for when our business resumes," said Zhang Xiaojun,
marketing manager of China Comfort International Travel
Service.
According to the plan, all tourists must fill out health
declaration forms before leaving and buy SARS insurance policies. Tourists are
also asked to take their temperature on the day of departure and are advised to
take helpings from platters and eat from separate plates, Zhang
said.
Wendy Zhang/ Shanghai Daily news
|
