The World Tourism Organization (WTO) will open its biennial session this weekend in the Chinese capital to discuss how to boost global tourism, especially the industry in China and other SARS-afected regions in Asia.

The 15th session of the WTO General Assembly scheduled meeting marked the organization's support for China and other Asian countries' travel industries, which suffered severe setbacks earlier this year due to the SARS outbreak, Francesco Frangialli, secretary-general of the WTO, said in summer when the organization agreed to meet in China.

Most of the 70 tourism ministers and nearly 1,000 representatives from 130 countries planning to participate in the meeting had arrived in Beijing by Friday, said a source from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

The Chinese government treated the assembly as an important opportunity to revive China's tourism after SARS, said Sun Gang, deputy director of the CNTA.

Frangialli said China was expected to replace France as the most popular destination for international tourists, despite the influence of SARS.

He also predicted that Asia's tourism would have strong momentum for development in the second half of this year.

China's week-long National Day holiday from Oct. 1 this year proved the strong momentum.

From Oct. 1 to 7, China received nearly 900 million domestic and foreign tourists, up 11.5 percent from the same period of lastyear, bringing a record of 34.6 billion yuan (4.2 billion US dollars), up 13.1 percent.

Beijing, the area most severely affected by SARS, attracted 38,300 tourists in first seven days in October.

Lu Changcheng, police chief of Beijing Capital Airport, described the holiday week as the busiest period for the airport in recent years.

A total of 5,622 aircraft took off and landed at the airport, serving 69,000 passengers in all, Lu said. "On the peak day, altogether 875 aircraft flew in and out, more than one flight eachminute," Lu added.

Sun Gang said China had the largest domestic tourism market, and should fully recover.

Sun said China's tourism sector would conduct a series of recovery programs following the WTO assembly, such as an international tourism fair in Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, in November, and a large activity at the Three Gorges.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2003)