China's hotels may spearhead the industry in shaking off the economic recession, said a senior official from China Tourist Hotels Association (CTHA) on Tuesday.

A survey based on the performance of 14 major cities' hotels showed that between September 2008 and January 2009, hotels of all varieties in China were hit by the global economic slowdown compared to the same period in 2007, while hotels managed by international companies felt more of a pinch than their local rivals.

The survey, jointly conducted by CTHA and hotel investment consultancy SAO Hotel Solution Consulting Ltd, revealed that the average occupancy rate of international branded hotels' plummeted 28 percent to 45 percent amid the financial crisis, while domestic hotels had an occupancy rate drop of 17 percent to 60 percent, said Xu Jingsheng, secretary general with CTHA.

Seasonal consumer spending during the Lunar Chinese New Year holiday has sparked a robust recovery, Xu said. During the weeklong vacation, 109 million people traveled for sightseeing or visiting relatives, up 24.7 percent year-on-year. And they spent 50.9 billion yuan, up 23 percent over 2008.

The forthcoming World Expo 2010 Shanghai, estimated to draw 70 million visitors, will also set domestic hoteliers' adrenalin flowing, said Huang Zhengang, secretary general with Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration.

Local tourism promotion activities include Guangdong's introduction of a citizen tourism scheme, and the distribution of hundreds of millions of yuan worth of travel coupons to tourists in Hangzhou, Chengdu and Nanjing, said Xu.

"It is highly probable that China's tourism industry will get revived first," Xu added.