Thanks to its rich tourist resources --? high mountains,
elegant rivers, springs and waterfalls, rich and varied folk
customs, rare species, scenic spots and historical sites,
distinctive opera, music and dance, and world-famous cuisine
--? China attracts a large number of domestic and foreign
tourists every year.?
Today, China has one of the world's largest domestic tourist
markets and an outbound market growing at a rate unequalled
anywhere. In 2004, the incoming tourists reached 109.038 million
person-times, 19 percent up on 2003; foreign exchange revenue from
tourism reached US$ 25.74 billion, a 47.8 percent year-on-year
increase; the number of tourists from the 16 main source countries
hit a record level, far surpassing the 2003 total.
China is emerging as the country with the world's highest growth
rate for outbound tourism. According to a survey conducted by an
international tourism monitoring agency of Asia-Pacific region, the
average daily expenses (excluding purchases) of a Chinese tourist
during one long holiday amounts to US$175; a German Chamber of
Commerce survey shows average daily expenses of US$110 in Germany,
second to American tourists' US$117; the Swiss Information Network
report puts the figure for Switzerland at US$313, the highest spend
for any source country.?
According to the World Tourist and Travel Council (WTTC), China's
travel industry may grow by 10.4 percent a year over the next 10
years, lifting China to fourth rank in terms of industry size. The
World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020 China will be the
world's top tourist destination, and fourth in outbound tourist
numbers with 100 million Chinese people traveling abroad every
year.
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