China’s outbound tourists to exceed 600 million in five years
Beijing : Over 600 million Chinese tourists will travel abroad in the next five years, according to data from China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).
In the first half of the year, China’s outbound tourists reached over 59 million, according to CNTA data.
Thanks to relaxed visa policies and rising disposable income, the number of China’s outbound tourists has kept growing in the past decade, Xinhua reports.
China had the world’s largest number of outbound tourists in 2015. About 120 million Chinese traveled overseas in 2015, up from 109 million the previous year, according to the CNTA.This was an increase of 19.5 percent year on year and nearly 13 times the level in 1998.
Meanwhile, China’s booming domestic tourism market saw over 4 billion journeys in 2015, generating tourism revenue of over 4 trillion yuan (620 billion U.S. dollars).
Golden Week sets off enthusiasm of domestic travelers
According to CCTV , this year’s National Day Golden Week, which starts on October 1, will set off the enthusiasm of domestic travelers as usual.
The China Tourism Academy says an estimated 700 million people – nearly half of China’s population – have plans to travel during the coming seven-day vacation.
Tourist sites are expected to receive nearly 590 million visits, an increase of 12 percent compared to last year. Tourism revenue will reach around 480 billion yuan, a growth of over 13 percent. The average amount spent by tourists is expected to exceed 800 yuan per capita.
Travel agency statistics show strong demand for both domestic and overseas destinations. Domestically, cities in the Yangtze River Delta area, such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou are favorites. Overseas, neighbouring countries including South Korea, Japan and Thailand remain popular.
The transportation peak will be between September 30th till October 3rd, with a notable rise in people traveling by railway and cars.
Source: Xinhua / CCTV
Sept. 28, 2016
