Inbound tourists, once marginal, now golden

Amid China's effort to enhance its appeal as an international tourism destination, Chinese travel agencies are seeing new business opportunities in tourists from overseas.

Ctrip, China's leading online travel agency based in Shanghai, said inbound tourism has regained the attention of travel agencies, thanks to the 10.9 percent growth of foreign visits in the first quarter of 2016.

"The major business of Chinese travel agencies is serving Chinese tourists, despite the fact that China's modern tourism industry was bred by inbound visitors," said Zhu Lei, head of strategic cooperation for international business under Ctrip. "The same investment could generate more profit in outbound tourism or the domestic tourism sector. Providing services for overseas tourists requires more in terms of technical capability and marketing foresight. So only few travel agencies offer such services."