Air France, the second-largest air carrier in Europe, Thursday launched a Guangzhou call center to manage its ticket sales and reservations in China's mainland and Hong Kong.

The call center, the company's first in Asia, is an effort by the French carrier to expand in China because residents will soon be allowed to visit Europe with tourist visas.

"As airline and tourism industries are expecting an upsurge in air travelers to Europe within the next months, European carriers are all trying to improve their services here," said a source with a local ticket agency named Xu.

Air France said it invested around 500,000 euros (US$606,437) in the call center, which will handle inquiries and reservations throughout China. It's expected to handle 300,000 calls this year and 30,000 more next year.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting France are expected to grow to 1 million annually in about two to three years, compared with the current number of 350,000, according France's national tourist board.

"Better prospects drive European carriers to increase flights here and brings more competition into the market this year," said Gong Guoliang, with the Shanghai office of British-based Virgin Atlantic Airways.

(Shanghai Daily March 26, 2004)