China to Become No.1 Tourist Nation

Posted by jesse on May 11, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments

China to Become No.1 Tourist Nation

Tourism is good for both China’s transition to domestic consumption and a service- based economy as well as for efforts to improve its international image or ‘soft power’.  Within 5-7 years, the country will become the world’s biggest tourism market both inbound and outbound, predicted Mr Taleb Rifai, head of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The deluge of world news coverage about China over the past decade has piqued the interest of global travellers, prompting Western travel and lodging companies to gear up for a piece of the rapidly expanding pie.  Tour operators such as Thomas Cook and Club Med are eyeing acquisitions, opening resorts in China, and greatly expanding tour and resort offerings abroad.   Already the biggest international hotel chain in China, the International Hotels Group (IHG) has more hotels in Shanghai than in New York and is planning to double its presence in China to over 250 hotels within five years.

The competitiveness of China’s tourism industry has improved markedly, leaping from 62^nd to 39^th place in just four years, according to a recent ranking by the World Economic Forum.  Last year, the number of outbound Chinese tourists ranked third in the world and China has made major tourism and infrastructure investments at home.  The report recommended further improvements in environmental protection with a strong focus on sustainable tourism.  The top 10 countries named in the survey are Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria, Sweden, the K, the US, Canada, Spain, and Singapore in that order.

In terms of travel infrastructure, China plans to invest more than 1.5 trillion RMB ($228 billion) in the aviation industry over the next five years to keep up with swelling demand.  The head of China’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said by 2015, China will operate more than 220 commercial airports and a fleet of over 4500 aircraft.   Currently, China has 175 commercial airports, many in the red, and keeps 2600 planes.  Within five years, Chinese travellers could make as many as 500 million air passenger trips annually, almost doubling trips made last year.

–       Telegraph, People’s Daily Online, Manila Bulletin, and Reuters