The travel companies agreed to make health and safety the top priority in their dealings with tourists.

The Domestic SARS Control Agreement, the first of its kind in China's tourism industry, said travel agencies must strictly abide by emergency guidelines released by the Ministry of Health and the State Administration of Tourism.

The agreement said travel agencies must check the temperatures of their touring party members every day before leaving for their destinations.

Tourists are also required to fill out health report forms, according to the agreement.

"It has laid a solid foundation for the full recovery of domestic tourism as the World Health Organization lifted its travel advisory to Guangdong," said Li Jinmao, general manager of Guangdong CITS Corporation Limited.

Guangdong was one of the worst SARS-hit areas in China with more than 1,500 people infected with the disease. To date, most of the SARS patients have been discharged from hospitals in the province.

"The 20 consecutive days of zero SARS cases reported in Guangdong also helped to rebuild tourists' confidence," Li said.

Analysts said the only one obstacle to the full recovery of China's tourism industry was the State Administration of Tourism's nationwide ban on the operations of travel agencies.

Incomplete statistics show that passenger numbers on flights between China's major tourist cities have returned to 50 to 90 percent of their levels before the SARS outbreak.

(People's Daily June 11, 2003)