Vice-Governor Tang Bingquan revealed recently that substantial progress has been made in the programme due to a consensus reached between the three local governments.

The proposed tourist region, which includes three places under the "one country, two systems" formula, is set to appeal to visitors who share similar cultural and historical origins but come from different political systems and societies, he said.

The vice-governor urged for deepened co-operation in the tourism sector among the three places, saying the three places are geographically integrated and complementary in resources, and closer co-operation will play a key role in sharpening their competitive edge in the tourism sector and attracting more tourists.

First, related government departments should further pursue visitor-friendly policies and strive to introduce more convenient visa-free procedures for travellers in line with international practice.

For instance, visa-free visitors to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) should receive the same treatment if they tour the Pearl River Delta region.

Hong Kong residents may also be allowed to visit Guangdong with their HKSAR identity card if the return permit system is scrapped.

Second, tourist agencies in the Pearl River Delta region should be allowed to organize more tourists from beyond the region to visit Hong Kong and Macao, after gaining approval from relevant central government authorities.

Meanwhile, mainlanders from outside Guangdong Province who are travelling on business trips to the province should be gradually allowed to tour Hong Kong and Macao.

Third, great efforts should be made to promote urban tourism as it is the greatest advantage commonly enjoyed by the three places.

Fourth, tourism administrations in the three areas should strengthen their links and make joint efforts to promote regional tour journeys covering the three places.

Tang also disclosed that a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao tourism information platform will be established within the year to better promote the image of regional tours through a cross-media publicity system for tourist products.

(China Daily February 8, 2002)