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The announcement by the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare Beijing free of the spread of SARS was a day to celebrate, remember and, for business, begin to rebuild.

A Chinese girl and her mother ride their bicycles past Tiananmen Gate in Beijing June 24, 2003. The World Health Organisation on Tuesday removed Beijing from its list of areas where SARS continues to spread and also lifted its warning against travel to the capital city, sending a signal of victory over the deadly disease in China.  [Reuters]

Beijing's top official Liu Qi and Acting Mayor Wang Qishan yesterday welcomed the WHO's decision and thanked the international body for its help in fighting the disease.

They also took the opportunity to offer their condolences to the families of SARS victims who died, express their respect for the medical staff who worked so valiantly and vowed to do all they could to prevent another outbreak of SARS.

For the millions working in business and service sectors hit hard by SARS, the joy and relief is evident.

Hotels across the city not only can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but feel they are about to step out of it after the nightmare of the past two months.

Room occupancy in a number of star-rated hotels in Beijing nosedived to below 7 per cent in April and May, according to the Beijing Tourism Bureau.

"Our rate of room occupancy once dropped to as low as 3 per cent in May, but now it has reversed to 30 per cent," said Sara Liu, public relations manager with the five-star Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing, whose guests are mostly from overseas.

The hotel has not received any large tour groups from abroad since May, but Liu said they are very optimistic about prospects in the coming days.

Although the city's travel services have taken an increasing number of telephone calls recently inquiring about overseas tours, there have been no such tours since SARS hit the city in late April, said an official with the Exit-Entry Administration under the Ministry of Public Security.

Despite the lifting of the travel advisory, quite a number of countries have not yet lifted their own restrictions. For this reason the passenger flow both entering and exiting China is likely to remain at a modest level in the immediate future.

The capital's tourist industry has been among the worst affected sectors.

At least 125 countries and regions took measures to restrict travel from China during April and May, and at least 14 countries issued a specific warning to their nationals against travel to China.

As a result, the city's tourism bureau conservatively estimates that at least 6,247 overseas tour groups cancelled bookings to China between March and May. These incomplete statistics show a direct economic loss of US$171 million.

The good news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shows there are currently just 71 countries imposing restrictions on people travelling from China.

For one SARS victim, surnamed Wang, who is set to return to work next week after more than two months, the WHO's decision is especially wonderful news.

"I will remember the experience as a SARS patient for the rest of my life," he said. Wang said he will always value the precious human relationships between him and friends, colleagues and medical workers he experienced during that extraordinary period.

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