But all the markets can't open at once, says tourism chief
Agreements on co-operation in tourism and environmental conservation will be signed by the nine southern mainland provinces, Hong Kong and Macau next month, Guangdong Governor Huang Huahua said.
The agreements will come as a follow up to discussions held at the first pan-Pearl River Delta forum. 'We will talk about strategies, destinations and how to share tourism resources,' he said.
From January to last month, four million mainland residents, mainly from Guangdong, visited Hong Kong and Macau, spending an average of 5,000 yuan each.
In future, the scope of tourism in the region would be widened to the other eight provinces, Mr Huang said.
Guangdong Environmental Protection Bureau director-general Li Qing said the agreement on environmental co-operation would set the direction for conservation efforts, lay down standards for industries and co-ordinate protection plans for individual provinces.
A co-operation mechanism would be set up involving annual meetings of environmental-protection bureau chiefs, the creation of a secretariat to co-ordinate activities between meetings and the formation of small groups to address specific problems.
