SARS outbreak may jeopardize Miss World in China

With the outbreak of SARS in the People's Republic of China, many rumors began floating around that Miss World 2003 might possibly change its venue to another country to avoid contestant withdrawals. Indeed the official hotel for this event, the Palm Beach resort & Spa in Sanya Bay already closed due to low business and a new venue for the contestant to be found (The Sheraton is considered as it is opening soon) HOWEVER, a breaking press release by the Chinese media has confirmed that the pageant will go in the said venue, between November 9th and December 6th, 2003.

Contenders from 117 countries and regions will converge on Sanya and the pageant would be televised live to those countries and regions, said sources with the Sanya municipal government on Sunday. The cultural exhibition center, named the Crown of Beauty, is designed and built especially for this contest. Located by the scenic tropical Sanya River, the center covers a total area of 90,000 square meters with an investment of 120 million yuan (about 14.5 million US dollars).

Tourism in the P.R. of China is gradually beginning to stabilize as SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) is starting to show signs of disappearance as the battle is fought against it. Hainan, an island off of the mainland, is one of the few provinces in China not to have experienced any SARS cases whatsoever, and is continuing this trend by screening all outsiders thoroughly to ensure the resort area is not affected.