Tourism now 6.1% of GDP
By Liu Jie (China Daily)Updated: 2007-02-09 09:27
With the rapid development of the nation's economy and remarkable increase in disposable income, the country's tourism industry is flying.
Inbound, outbound and domestic tourism are all showing expansive growth, with tourism revenues now accounting for 6.1 percent of total GDP.
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The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), says that the industry will grow at least 10 percent each of the next five years, while the World Tourism Organization predicts that China will be the world's largest tourism market by 2020.
The government's support of outbound tourism has been instrumental in the surge of Chinese consumers travelling abroad. By December 2006, 129 countries and regions had been approved as destinations by the CNTA, a dramatic increase from the six approved in 1999.
An example of government efforts to expand tourism is an agreement last year
with Australia allowing all Chinese citizens to visit the continent. Before only
citizens from eight provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong Province, were allowed to travel there.
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