Xiong Weiping, general manager of Hong Kong China Travel Service, has disclosed to media that HKCTS will open ten leisure and holiday zones in the Chinese mainland over the next three to five years.

Xiong said that the next three to five years would be the most important period of development for HKCTS and the group would focus all its human resources, material resources, financial resources, and energy on developing tourism while giving equal attention to the development of their three backbone sectors of tourism real estate; iron and steel; and supply chain logistics, and so make itself one of the largest travel groups in China with the best management and performance.

In recent years, HKCTS has been devoting itself to leisure and holiday products while improving its sightseeing travel products. Xiong said that HKCTS is studying the feasibility of building leisure and holiday bases in Chengdu, Beijing, and Hainan with the aim of setting up ten such zones over the next three to five years.

At present, citizens from 49 cities in 18 Chinese mainland provinces are allowed to travel to Hong Kong. Under the framework of CEPA, the number of regions where HKCTS enjoys national treatment has been increased from Guangdong province alone to the nine provinces and regions in the Pearl River Delta Region.

It is understood that HKCTS's sales revenue has increased from 20 billion yuan?in 2005 to 31.3 billion yuan?in 2007, and its profit in the period increased from 2.49 billion yuan to 3.86 billion yuan.