Officials from Asia-Pacific countries and the World Tourism Organization (WTO) on Wednesday urged travelers around the world to resume Asia visits as the SARS epidemic is now under control and that the region is safe to visit.

"We urge travelers around the world to resume holidays and business trips to Asia with assurance that the region is now safe to visit and is more attractive than ever," they said in a statement adopted at the end of the WTO Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit on Crisis Management in Manila.

Ministers and delegates from 27 countries and regions in Asia and the Pacific as well as several international organizations, including the International Air Transport Association, participated in the one-day conference.

In the statement read by WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli, they welcomed the good news that the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic was declared under control by the World Health Organization (WHO) last week, and expressed relief that WHO has lifted all SARS travel warnings with the exception of Beijing.

But they are confident that the travel warning against the Chinese capital will be removed in the near future.

It was announced that the 15th session of the WTO General Assembly will be held in Beijing in October this year.

The participants also expressed confidence that regional tourism "is getting back on track, with reactivation of the industry already under way and full recovery expected by the end of the year."

Meanwhile, they encouraged WTO to address the issue of travel advisories, which they said "sometimes have a disproportionate effect on destinations," and to base its work on the principles enshrined in its Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

At a press briefing held after the meeting, Frangialli said, " it is normal and can't be avoided" for governments to issue travel advisories to inform and protect their nationals as it's "part of their duty."

But he said that in many cases, the information "is not accurate and updated." Therefore, he said, they urge governments and international organizations like WHO "do that in a very careful and appropriate manner."

He agreed that the promotion of intra-regional travel, as recommended by the participants to the meeting, is key to the recovery of the regional tourism industry.

Wednesday's conference is the highlight of a four-day series of meetings held by WTO that began here on Monday.

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