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International tourism down

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-22 07:55

HANGZHOU: China has seen an 8.2 percent drop in visitors from outside the mainland in the first six months of this year, due largely to the global economic recession and the H1N1 flu epidemic, a top tourism official said Monday.

Many countries across the world also experienced the same drop, as data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) showed that international tourism declined by 8 percent globally in the first four months of this year.

But China's domestic tourism grew by 11.7 percent year on year to 1 billion visitors in the first six months, Du Jiang, vice chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said at the fifth International Conference on Destination Management in Hangzhou.

Amid the global economic downturn, the number of foreign visitors to China in the first half of this year has dropped, while the number of domestic travelers is on the rise. China Daily

"The growth in the domestic market has greatly reduced the negative impact of the global recession on China's tourism industry, and helped ensure the stable development of the industry," he said.

Chinese tourism, from the mainland to overseas destinations, has also increased by 1.1 percent in the first half of this year, he added.

"The CNTA forecast for this year is that China's tourism industry will achieve a slight increase, from 1 to 2 percent, in both the visitor arrivals and tourism revenues," Li Renzhi, director-general of the supervision and management department of CNTA, told China Daily.

Due to the global economic recession, China's major tourist sources, such as Japan, South Korea and the United States, have seen travelers reduce trips and cut travel expenses, Li said.

"The business travel sector has especially been affected, compared to leisure travel," he said.

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International companies are encouraging video conferencing to reduce travel costs, said Roger Carter, managing director of Team Tourism Consulting and consultant to the UNWTO,

"China's current focus on the internal market is exactly the right thing to do," he said.

Despite the global slump facing the travel industry, China will become the world's most popular tourist destination within four to six years, said UNWTO acting deputy Secretary-General Eugenio Yunis. China also will become one of the most important tourist-generating markets in the future, he said.

UNWTO forecasts call for international tourism to decrease 4 to 6 percent this year.

"But we expect that the year 2010 will be a growth year again," he said.

China also needs to consider the impact that tourism has on the environment and culture, or the "sustainability of tourism," Yunis said.

"Tourism is fragile and is based on the natural and cultural assets of the destination," he said. "Tourism in large numbers can damage the natural environment and the culture and traditions of local people."