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dam-l SCMP: Three Gorges tourism drying up
Thursday, December 9, 1999
Sender: owner-irn-three-gorges@netvista.net
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Three Gorges tourism drying up
STAFF REPORTER in Beijing
An anticipated surge in overseas tourists wanting to cruise down the
Yangtze River has failed to materialise, leaving ports near the Three
Gorges full of idle luxury boats.
Most of the 60 luxury vessels that travel through the area remain docked
in Chongqing, Yichang and Wuhan, yesterday's Beijing Morning Post
reported.
Last month, only two of the cruises were operating.
The number of overseas tourists taking a Three Gorges cruise has dropped
from a peak of 100,000 in 1994 to fewer than 50,000 this year up to
November.
At least 10 of the 28 cruise operators had closed. Many of the survivors
were heavily in debt.
Foreign interest has cooled due to poor services and less-than-impressive
scenery because of construction work.
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Published in the South China Morning Post. Copyright © 1999. All rights
reserved.