It was all because of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) that Hainan earned this reputation, said Wu Wenxue, director of the Hainan Tourism Administration.

Statistics show that the successful hosting of BFA in 2001 has won the province nearly 2,000 hosting opportunities of various conferences in the successive two years.

The city of Qionghai, where Boao town is located, held over 400international and domestic conferences and forums in 2003.

Wu said BFA paved the way for the conference economy in Hainan,which boosts the development of tourism.

An island province, Hainan attracts many tourists with its sunny beaches and juicy coconuts, said Wu, and thanks to the conferences there occurred an rapidly increasing number of visitors, who both attended meetings and came sightseeing.

In 2003 Hainan welcomed 12.34 million tourists, making an income of 9.4 billion yuan (about 1.1 billion), up 8.84 percent year-on-year. During the spring festival this year the island received 724,100 visitors, who brought 728 million yuan (US$88 billion) in earnings to the province, 19.68 percent more than the same period last year.

Over 90 percent of high-brow hotel suites are booked in major cities like Haikou, Sanya and even the town of Boao on holidays, though the prices were raised, said the official.

Wu said BFA served as a significant advertisement for Hainan's tourism, for it displayed Hainan's scenic beauty to world tourists and won an international reputation for the island province.

The fact that the forum was periodically held in Boao also proved the high safety of this area, which would guarantee the steadily growing tourist numbers.

What was more, BFA could attract a large number of world famous tourism organizations and companies every year, who would bring information, technologies, funds and innovative ideas. They were all precious to the healthy development of Hainan's tourism, said Wu.

The conference economy was always bound with tourism, Wu said, and it was an indication of China's economic growth.

Hainan would strenuously develop this type of economy and boost its tourism through the BFA so that the beautiful island province could become a world focus, said the official.

The 2004 BFA annual meeting will start on April 24 as scheduled.

Traditional issues, such as economic cooperation between Asian partners, and current international focuses, especially the lagging World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda (DDA), will be discussed in the two-day forum.

Chinese President Hu Jintao will address the meeting. Leaders or former leaders of other countries, including Cambodia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States, will attend the meeting.

Delegates with international institutes, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization), and over 100 multinationals will also participate in the forum.

| China Travel Update |