GUANGZHOU: Tourism leaders from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Shenzhen held several rounds of discussions over the weekend calling for a fast and healthy recovery of the tourism industry in the Pearl River Delta region.

"The trial policy of allowing easy access to Hong Kong, which will be operational in four cities in Guangdong from July 28, will open up a huge potential in the tourism market," said Stephen Shu-Kwan Ip, secretary for economic services of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region.

Zhongshan, Dongguan, Foshan and Jiangmen have a total population of 10 million, and one-tenth of these have shown an interest in travelling to Hong Kong, according to a survey conducted by the Guangdong Provincial Tourism Administration.

Some 6.82 million mainland tourists travelled to Hong Kong last year, with people from Guangdong accounting for 42 per cent.

(HK Edition 07/07/2003 page2)

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