The Green Book of China's Tourism, published by Social
Sciences Academic Press, was released yesterday including travel
data for last year that showed significant increases in numbers of
overseas tourists.
There were 3.3 million visitors from Japan last year, the
largest number of foreigners and an increase of 14 percent on
2002.
One in four South Koreans traveling abroad last year chose China
as a destination, a third more than in 2002, and almost 50 percent
more Russians came compared with two years earlier. Visitors from
the US, Japan and other countries also increased.
Since the SARS epidemic distorted data for 2003, 2002 was used
for comparison instead.
Experts also predicted yesterday that inbound travel is expected
to show robust growth again this year, with forecasts of a 15
percent rise in both arrivals and revenue.
The sector is likely to yield some US$30 billion thanks to an
estimated influx of 110 million tourists, said Liu Deqian, tourism
expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
The 2008
Olympic Games in Beijing and 2010 Expo in Shanghai are thought
to be behind the rise, as well as trade fairs and prestigious
sporting events like Formula 1 in Shanghai, exhibition games by NBA
teams and last weekend's Johnnie Walker Classic golf tournament in
Beijing.
Hong Kong residents, who have long dominated the inbound market,
showed a dip last year compared with 2003 but still made up 70
percent of visitors to the mainland, down from 87.6 percent.
China was last year listed as one of the world's most attractive
destination countries by Travel Trade Gazette - Asia, but
the travel isn't just one-way, said Zhang Guangrui, Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences researcher.
About 28.85 million Chinese went on foreign trips last year, up
42.7 percent and the largest annual jump since the launch of
outbound tourism in 1983.
(China Daily April 27, 2005)