Sichuan Province will unveil a post-quake reconstruction plan next month to boost its damaged travel industry, two months after the "tourist paradise" was struck by a major earthquake.

The plan will be based on the findings of a group co-organized by the National Tourism Administration and the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau.

Officials said tourist destinations in the province would be re-opened gradually. At present, all tour groups are banned for safety reasons.

"The premise of the tourism rehabilitation plan will be to mark out the areas, routes, destinations and hotels that are safe for tourists," said Wu Mian, vice director of the Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau.

With its spectacular natural scenery, Sichuan has five sites on the UN World Heritage List. It is best known as home to the endangered giant pandas.

The 8.0-magnitude quake that struck the province's Wenchuan County has caused at least 70 billion yuan (US$10 billion) in losses to the local tourism industry. The amount was more than half of last year's total tourism revenue, Sichuan Provincial Tourism Bureau statistics showed.

Some 568 tourist attractions among about 4,000 in the province were damaged by the quake, causing 27.84 billion yuan in losses.

(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2008)