China Releases Tourism Green Paper For 2010

The Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has published China's Tourism Development Analysis and Forecast 2010, aka Tourism Green Paper 2010, which is the ninth green paper in a series which was first published in 2000.

The green paper consists of two parts: a general report and special reports. The special reports cover inbound, outbound, and domestic tourism markets; scenic spots; travel agencies and hotels; hot topics such as regional tourism development and the issuance of regulations on travel agencies; and development of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan tourism. There are two special sections added to the green paper, one is the analysis of the impact of the global financial crisis on China's tourism industry, and the other is a commentary on innovative enterprises and measures in the Chinese tourism industry.

According to the green paper, the two major factors that affected the global tourism development in 2009 were, the financial crisis and the H1N1 swine flu scare. In 2009, China's tourism industry showed the following characteristics: inbound tourism declined; outbound tourism grew with Taiwan travel as the highlight; and domestic tourism grew greatly due to policies to stimulate domestic demand, showing a revenue growth of 15%.

Regarding the outlook of 2010, the general report predicts that China's tourism industry will enjoy greater growth because of the improvement in the external environment and the adjustment of tourism policies. In general the domestic, outbound. and inbound tourism sectors will all grow; new business models such as cruises, timeshare, and exhibitions and conventions will see more rapid development; the formulation of a tourism basic law will progress; and the reform of tourism administration mechanisms will also accelerate.