PATA: China Third Largest Inbound Tourism Destination

At the recent 60th Anniversary and Conference of the Pacific Asia Travel Association held in Beijing, it was announced that China is now the world's third largest inbound tourism destination.

PATA said at the conference that, during the 11th Five-Year Plan period, China's tourism industry maintained a sound momentum of steady and fast development. The annual average growth rate was 12% for domestic travels, 3.5% for inbound overnight tourist arrivals, and 19% for outbound tourists. Total tourism revenues increased by an average of 15% per annum, the average number of holiday trips per capita was 1.5, and tourism consumption contributed over 10% of the total spend. In 2010, China became the third largest inbound tourism destination and the fourth largest source market for outbound tourism: highlighting the more prominent role of tourism in driving the economic and social development of China.

In 2010, China's tourism realized steady and fast growth. The number of domestic travels stood at 2.1 billion, up 10.6% year on year. The total tourism revenue reached CNY1.57 trillion, up 21.7%. The total number of direct jobs in the industry reached 13.5 million. The number of international overnight tourist arrivals climbed to 55.66 million, up 9.4% over the previous year and making China the third largest inbound tourism destination of the world. The foreign exchange earnings from tourism rose by 15.5% to reach USD45.8 billion. The number of outbound trips rose by 20.4% and reached 57.39 million.

The conference was jointly organized by PATA, the China National Tourism Administration, and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. PATA said that about 1,000 guests and delegates from 66 countries and regions, representing over 400 organizations, attended the event.