Travel agencies, hotels, bus and ship companies in China have taken preventive measures against SARS in order to ensure the health of tourists from home and abroad.
The Capital Taxi Company strengthened sanitary and ventilation measures and provided taxi drivers with disinfectant and gloves.
The company has spent 800,000 yuan (96,600 US dollars) on sterilization to provide a comparatively safe environment for passengers and to ensure the health of employees. No cases have been found thus far among the 7,000 employees, according to the company's general manager Yang Heping.
The five-star hotel Great Wall Sheraton began implementing sanitary measures at the end of March. Cleaners wiped elevators, telephones and chairs in the lobby with disinfectant every four hours. SARS information has been posted around the hotel so that hotel employees are well-informed about severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
Travel agencies have undertaken similar sanitary work in offices and transportation vehicles. Tourist guides remind customers to take necessary precautionary measures.
All of China's tourist enterprises will do their utmost to prevent the spread of SARS through travel, said Zhang Xiqin, vice director of China National Tourism Administration.
(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2003)
