Chinese tourists to make 100 m trips in 2014
Beijing : China has become the third biggest recipient of tourists in the world and the biggest contributor to global tourism revenue, Shao Qiwei, head of China’s National Tourism Administration, told a conference promoting cooperation between tourism authorities in China and the United States.
Chinese tourists will make more than 90 million trips by the end of this year, the country’s top tourism official said in Chicago , estimating an unprecedented 100 million trips will be undertaken by Chinese tourists next year.
Chinese tourists spent more than $102 billion last year on overseas trips, Shao said, adding that each Chinese traveller spent an average of $5,948 in the US. He also quoted research findings from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis that found Chinese tourists had helped the US ge nerate at least 10,000 jobs in 2012.
Shao is leading a Chinese delegation of tourism officials and industry heads in the US and has taken part in a succession of events that aim to promote cooperation in the tourism sector.
“We are witnessing the best era of our cooperation,” he said at the conference. “A solid foundation has been laid for us to make the tourism industry contribute more to the advancement of our two nations’ relations.”
Shao’s remarks were echoed by Chris Thomson, president and CEO of Brand USA, the official US tourism and marketing organisation, who predicted China will be the top tourist source for the US in 2018 with the number of visiting Chinese hitting 4.7 million annually.
Oct. 13 , 2013
