The Chinese capital reported a 50.8 percent fall in overseas tourist arrivals in the first seven months this year because of the SARS impact, the Municipal Tourism Bureau said.

Hotels in Beijing received 3.4 million domestic tourists, down 25.3 percent from the same period last year.

Beijing was the hardest hit Chinese city during the SARS outbreak that also hit Hong Kong, Toronto of Canada and a number of other cities and regions worldwide.

Experts expected that the number of overseas tourists will rise dramatically this autumn due to a series of exhibitions like the upcoming scientific exposition, the Beijing-Taiwan scientific and trade fair and the international tourism festival to be staged in September or October.

(Xinhua News Agency August 30, 2003)