A group of about 70 Chinese tourists were surprised by a warm welcome ceremony at Changi Airport, when they arrived in Singapore on Wednesday evening.

This is the first tourist group from China since the end of the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic.

"On behalf of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), I welcome you to our beautiful city of the lion," said Lim Neo Chian, deputy chairman and chief executive of the STB, at the welcome ceremony.

Visitor arrivals from China this month registered a month-on- month increase of 102 percent to about 17,000 visitors, said Lim. "I believe more Chinese tourists will come to Singapore in the following months, especially during the Golden Week in October," he said.

"Tourism cooperation is an integral part of the development of the relationship between China and Singapore," said Lou Zhao Hui, charge d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy, on Wednesday evening.

It helps reinforce Sino-Singaporean bilateral ties as well as give a boost to the economy, he said. Visitor arrivals from China in Singapore reached as high as around 670,000 in the year 2002, while more than half a million people went to China from Singapore during the same period.

(eastday.com July 31, 2003)