China set to become world’s 3rd biggest travel destination

23 May, 2007

China is likely to replace the United States as the world’s third most popular tourism destination in 2008, an official of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has said.

Currently China ranks fourth among popular tourism destinations, after France, Spain and the United States.

In 2006, China accounted for 5.8% of the global tourism market, a growth of 0.3% compared with two years ago, according to China Daily.

Of all the tourists who traveled to Asia and the Pacific region in 2006, 29% also visited China.

According to Xu Jing, regional representative for Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the market share percentages of China and the United States in 2006 were very close.

Xu Jing was speaking at the 2007 China International Olympics and Tourism Forum, which concluded on May 19, 2007, at Qingdao, the coastal city of East China’s Shandong province.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation had forecast in 2006 that China would become the most popular tourist destination by 2020.

At the beginning of 2007, the UNWTO revised its forecast to 2015. Xu Jing said the forecast was revised because of the rapid development of China’s tourism industry.

The number of overseas travelers to China went up from 10.5 million in 1996 to 49 million in 2006. The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai is expected to boost China’s tourism market further.

Inbound tourism to China, according to the Pacific and Asia Travel Association (PATA), will increase by 5% year-on-year between 2007 and 2009.

The majority opinion of nearly 300 government officials and experts from China and abroad, who gathered for the two-day, 2007 China International Olympics and Tourism Forum, was that China should train its tourism industry professionals better to make the experience of millions of travelers during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games a memorable one.

The aim of the China International Olympics and Tourism Forum, co-sponsored by the China National Tourism Administration and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, was to exchange knowledge and learn from other countries’ experiences like Japan, Republic of Korea, the United States, Australia, Greece and Spain.

PATA estimates the cumulative public and private investment into China’s tourism industry will reach $170 billion in 2007.

The Beijing Olympics is being widely seen as an unprecedented opportunity for China’s tourism industry.

Several million people from home and abroad are expected to visit Beijing to watch the Olympic Games and visit tourist attractions. They will include 16,000 athletes and officials, about 5,000 members of the Olympic family, 7,000 Olympic sponsors and their customers, and 21,600 registered journalists.