TORONTO - American tourists should continue visiting Toronto despite a strike by city workers that has left mounds of rotting garbage throughout the city, Mayor David Miller said in an interview with CNN on Thursday.

CNN host Ali Velshi, whose parents live in Toronto, introduced the segment with a video clip from a reporter entitled "Toronto Stinks" that featured overflowing trash bins and fenced-off temporary dump sites populated by thousands of garbage bags.

"It's actually much better than people would think from that clip," Miller said. "Torontonians have responded tremendously."

"We had our Pride celebrations a couple of weeks ago, and it was superb. ... We've got the Honda Indy this weekend. ... Despite the fact we have 30,000 people on strike, the city is coping very, very well."

Miller said the strike doesn't seem to have affected Toronto's tourism industry.

"In terms of tourism, the city's buzzing," he said. "We've got the Dead Sea Scrolls ... the Art Gallery of Ontario has had a wonderful renovation ... and we have an opera house that has the best sound in the world. So despite all these challenges, it's actually a great time to visit Toronto."

The strike by about 24,000 inside and outside workers, now in its third week, began June 22 and has halted garbage pickup and a host of other city services. Negotiations between the city and union have proceeded slowly, but Miller said he believes a deal will eventually be reached.

"We're like every city in North America: the recession has hurt us," Miller said. "In our case, our welfare costs are up significantly. But we're not proposing to lay off people. We're just asking people to accept that this year, in the current economic climate, is not a year for significant pay increases. That's our position."

"We want to be fair to the workers -- these people deliver terrific services -- but it has to be affordable to the city. In my view, there is a deal to be reached, and we can go on being the terrific city of Toronto that people admire from inside Toronto and outside."

Miller's chat with CNN follows a San Francisco Chronicle blurb on Sunday that made Toronto seem like a hazardous vacation destination.

In the newspaper's World Travel Watch section, Canada heads a list of notable countries, ahead of troubled regions like Honduras, Mexico, North Africa and Thailand.

"Residents complained of the stench and visitors were surprised to see the mounds of trash throughout the city that is known for its cleanliness," the section on Toronto read.

Honduras recently underwent a military coup, Mexico was noted for its incidences of dengue fever, and North Africa was flagged as the site of an outbreak of bubonic plague.

The Chronicle reporter has said he was not trying to dissuade tourists from visiting Toronto, but merely providing them with vital travel information.

The city has set up temporary dump sites for people to get rid of their trash, but the stench from some of the locations has infuriated nearby residents.

Toronto civic workers also went on strike in 2002, resulting in mounds of garbage piling up on curbsides, but the government enacted back-to-work legislation after 16 days due to health concerns.