At a news conference of the International Cooperation for Tourism Development Under A New Paradigm, which opened here Monday morning, Frangialli said that the organization has recently be put under the frame of the United Nations, which is a strong encouragement to the development of tourism.

The choice shows the organization's support for China's tourism and other Asian countries which were affected by SARS.

He said that although the exact date of the conference has not be decided, the number of participants will not be less than that of 2002. Nearly 1,000 delegates from more than 130 countries and regions participated in the meeting in 2002.

He said leaders of many countries and international organizations including UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan have been invited to participate in the conference in Beijing.

Although tourism industry of the Asian-Pacific region has been severely hit by the outbreak of SARS, Frangialli was optimistic about the future of the industry and predicted a positive growth this year. The number of tourists is expected to increase remarkably in the second half of 2003.

He said that he was one of the 64,000 tourists arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport on July 13, and the figure was four times higher than expected several months ago.

In 2002, more than 131 million international tourists traveled to Asia, making Asia the second biggest destination after Europe.

He said that with the steady economic growth in China and rapid increase of overseas tourists, China will become one of the largest tourists sources in the coming years.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2003)