Chinese tourists to bring 200-bln-dollar revenue to "Belt and Road" countries

Chinese tourists could bring a total revenue of 200 billion U.S. dollars to countries involved in the Belt and Road, a tourism official said.

Du Jiang, deputy head of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), told an ongoing tourism festival that 150 million Chinese tourists are expected to travel to Belt and Road countries in the next five years.

Another 85 million tourists from those countries are expected to visit China, bringing revenue of up to 110 billion U.S. dollars, he said at the Silk Road International Tourism Festival in Lanzhou, Gansu province.

Over 25 million tourists are travel annually between China and Belt and Road countries, and the market has plenty of potential to expand. The Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road include over 60 countries in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Opening on Monday, the one-month festival is organized by the CNTA and Gansu provincial government.