Chinese tourists will be disappointed to hear that they'll not be able to visit Europe for the upcoming May Day holidays. The China National Tourism Administration say it's still not ready to issue the go-ahead for launching such tours. But, local travel agencies says, if they're allowed to, they won't be able to prepare new services in such a short timeframe.

Many Chinese travel agencies had been preparing to launch tour routes to Europe during the May Day holidays, after China signed memorandums of understanding with 12 European Union nations allowing Chinese tourists to travel there.

But the China National Tourism Administration now says it needs more time to complete the exchange of the lists of Chinese group tour operators and receiving agencies in EU countries, among many other things.

The administration says it is not sure when all the work will be done.

Li Shumin, senior executive of China Travel Services, said, "According to our operating cycles, we need at least one month to design products, advertise them, register tourists and apply for visas for them. It will be difficult for us to launch these services in such a short timeframe. "

Like their potential Chinese customers, Chinese travel agencies are also disappointed that they are unable to launch their new services as originally scheduled. But on the bright side, they are at least happy to see that an increasing number of Chinese have expressed an interest in traveling to Europe.

(Xinhua News Agency April 6, 2004)