Travel agencies in Shanghai are offering 50 percent discounts on tours to the Indonesian resort-island of Bali, anticipating a recovery in the market, eastday.com reported today.

Just after the second bomb-blast struck Bali on October 1, the number of Chinese tourists heading there hit rock-bottom, with some agencies even suspending tours.

Recently, in Beijing, the tour price returned to 5,000 yuan (US$617) per person, the same as that before the blasts. However, in Shanghai, tourists still lack confidence, said an industry analyst.

According to a local travel website, a five-day (four-night) tour to Bali for two persons costs only 4,999 yuan, compared with 4,000-plus yuan per person before the attack. Shanghai will cooperate more with the airlines and hotels to offer more benefits to attract tourists, in preparation for the week-long Spring Festival holiday, the analyst pointed out.

(Shanghai Daily November 23, 2005)