CRI:
This year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday is occurring within a special context of normalized epidemic prevention and control, and many places in southern China have also entered the flood season one by one. I would like to ask the Ministry of Culture and Tourism what measures have been taken to ensure safe travel? Thank you.
Liu Kezhi:
Thank you for your question. Although this year's Dragon Boat Festival holiday spans only three days, it is of special significance within the context of normalized epidemic prevention and control. The safe management of holiday tourism cannot be ignored. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism adheres to a problem-oriented approach. It requires all localities to firmly establish the concept of "hidden risks are accidents" and strictly implement the "three responsibilities," namely, the regulatory responsibility of the local government within its geographical jurisdiction, the safety oversight responsibility of the relevant government department, and the primary responsibility of the enterprise. They need to carry out in-depth examinations and deal with potential safety hazards in regard to weak links, and effectively adopt preventive measures. To ensure the safe travel of tourists during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, we continue to implement the epidemic prevention and control measures while focusing on five aspects of overall work.
First, we will work to ensure tourism safety during the flood season. A few days ago, our ministry issued a notice in this regard, requiring all local governments to pay close attention to implementation of their flood prevention responsibilities, urging travel agencies, A-level tourist attractions and other tourism-related enterprises to effectively implement their primary responsibilities, and work hard in undertaking safety checks and management of hidden risks in the flood season.
Second, we are focusing on the safety management of chartered tourist vehicles. Our ministry requires travel agencies to cooperate with legitimate charter vehicle companies, strictly review the qualifications of chartered tourist vehicles and their drivers, and ensure they sign formal car rental agreements. We also urge local culture and tourism departments to cooperate with transportation, public security and other departments to carry out safety checks and to address hidden risks in chartered tourist vehicles, and investigate and punish any violations of laws and regulations.
Third, we are deeply involved in food safety management. We urge A-level tourist attractions and star-rated hotels to implement good food safety management systems, implementing stringent measures in food procurement, transportation, processing, storage and other links, and do a good job in the prevention and control of the "four hazards" in the kitchen (which actually means the four pests of flies, mosquitoes, mice, cockroaches) and ensure regular health examinations for employees.
Fourth, we highlight the safety management of special equipment. We urge A-level tourist attractions to strengthen their self-examination of facilities and equipment such as sightseeing vehicles, ropeways, cable cars and touring and sightseeing facilities. For equipment affected by the epidemic, which is in a state of suspension and has not been maintained for a long time, a safety assessment must be carried out before any planned reopening to ensure it meets the safety requirements.
Fifth, we have been issuing travel safety advisory tips. A few days ago, we issued a travel safety reminder to society. Taking this opportunity, we once again remind all tourists of the need to remain cautious in regard to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, and ensure good travel security. Tourists are requested to pay close attention to the epidemic risk situation notices issued by the local prevention and control departments, strictly abide by the management regulations of tourist destinations, raise awareness of safety precautions, and make sure to implement self-protection. When using transportation vehicles or visiting attractions, tourists should consciously keep a certain social distance from other tourists, widen the distance between the tables when eating, take care in using serving chopsticks and spoons, and check the opening, reservation, and visitor number limit measures of the scenic areas through authoritative channels before traveling. During the journey, tourists should plan the travel routes and time in a reasonable way, comply with the regulations of the scenic areas during the tour, enter the attraction parks at intervals, travel in different tourism peaks, and especially take care to avoid large public gatherings. At the same time, tourists should avoid going to areas that do not have acceptable conditions to receive visitors. If they encounter bad weather, they should avoid going to disaster-prone places such as mountains, valleys, and waterside areas.
Thank you.
