China tourism hurt by quake

BEIJING, May 27 (UPI) -- China's tourism industry expects to take a big hit in the aftermath of the earthquake in China as trip cancellations to the affected regions mount.

The China National Tourism Administration has ordered all tourists not to visit these areas for an unspecified period, even as the local tourism industry struggles to return to normal, the China Daily reported Tuesday.

The administration has told travel agencies to cancel even trips that only require passing through the quake-hit areas.

"We haven't yet calculated the economic losses caused by the quake, but I'm sure they will be huge," Shanghai Spring International Travel Service spokesman Zhang Lei was quoted as saying.

Excursions to the southwest Sichuan province, the May12 quake's epicenter location, are among the popular packages offered by Zhang's travel service.

Tourism accounts for 8 percent of Sichuan province's gross domestic product.

The quake disaster follows last winter's blizzards, China's worst in half a century that also hurt the travel industry.

"Frequent natural disasters would dampen enthusiasm for travel, so we have upgraded travel companies' risk ratings," said Tang Jianwei, analyst with Guojin Securities.

For the long-term, however, Tang said China's travel industry would enjoy fast growth driven by rising incomes.