The Chinese government has approved the first wholly owned foreign-invested travel agency in China, 2.5 years before it had to, but imposed strict limits on its business, the winning applicant said yesterday. A Jalpak official said it had received approval from the China National Travel Bureau (CNTA) to set up the Japan Airlines International Travel Agency (China), with registered capital of five million yuan (HK$4.68 million). Jalpak, the sixth-largest travel agent in Japan, is a subsidiary of Japan Airlines. The bureau chose Jalpak from several foreign travel agencies that had applied for the right to set up such a venture. As a commitment on joining the World Trade Organisation, Beijing agreed to let foreign travel companies set up wholly owned companies in China before December 31, 2005. But Jalpak is allowed to handle only Japanese citizens coming to China for holidays. It is not allowed to handle citizens of other countries nor Chinese going abroad or to Hong Kong or Macau. Asked if this restriction was reasonable, the Jalpak official declined comment. 'Previously, we could arrange for Japanese to come here and the tours were handled by a local travel agent. All we had was an office. Now we can organise the tours ourselves, with guides and other services,' the official said. She declined to estimate how much business the new service would generate, saying it had just began. Under regulations issued earlier this month by the CNTA and the Ministry of Commerce, foreign travel companies could, with approval from the State Council, set up wholly owned or majority-controlled travel firms in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xian as from July 12 this year. Each applicant will receive approval for one company and only to handle incoming tourists visiting the mainland.
