Vatican official says China is fascinating cultural tourism stop

Published: 2003-10-20

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A Vatican representative praised China as a fascinating place for tourism, saying the country combined cultural and religious values. Msgr. Piero Monni made the remarks at a conference of the World Tourism Organization in Beijing Oct. 17-24. A copy of his text was released at the Vatican. Msgr. Monni said global tourism has seen a boom in recent years, and rich and poor countries have benefited. But the tourism industry has shown itself vulnerable to wars, terrorism, natural disasters and epidemics -- and recent calamities have thrown the tourism industry into crisis, he said. "China is just now coming out of the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) emergency. The diffusion of this illness determined a moment of crisis even for the ever-growing Chinese tourism market and for the international tourism market," he said.

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