Tourist influx set to grow, report says

Number of jobs in country's travel industry grow by 3.3%, global association says

China's tourism industry will reportedly grow by 7.5 percent this year, a tick above the expected GDP growth rate for the nation's overall economy.

The World Travel & Tourism Council, which groups chief executives from about 100 of the world's leading travel and tourism companies, says the sector contributed 5.81 trillion yuan ($935.6 billion; 856 billion euros) and 66 million jobs last year to the country's GDP.

Tourists climb the Great Wall in Beijing. The number of inbound tourists in China has declined in recent years. Photos provided to China Daily

The council, established in 1990, quantifies the industry annually. This year's report covered 184 countries and 25 regions of the world.

"In 2015, the industry's GDP contribution is forecast to grow by 7.5 percent and employment by 3.3 percent in China," says David Scowsill, council president and CEO. "The country's middle class is growing and traveling more and the Chinese government has positioned the travel industry as one of its pillars of economic development."

Premier Li Keqiang said in March that the country's annual economic growth target will be about 7 percent.

Scowsill says the government has been very successful in its planning of infrastructure projects, such as high-speed rail and airport networks as well as hotels, all of which have helped boost growth in the tourism industry.

The China National Tourism Administration says tourism revenue reached 3.38 billion yuan last year.

Scowsill says the administration's figures probably highlight just contributions from travel and tourism, while the council figures include "overall economic benefit of our industry and incorporate related industries such as restaurants, taxis and so on".

Travel and tourism is one of the world's largest industries, the council says, last year supporting 277 million jobs and generating 9 percent of the world's GDP, or $7.58 billion.

By the end of 2015, the Chinese travel and tourism sector will contribute 6.24 trillion yuan, or 9.5 percent of China's GDP, and create 68.3 million jobs, about 9 percent of total new employment, once all direct, indirect and induced impacts are taken into account, the organization's latest research claims.

"Travel and tourism is one of China's largest economic sectors. It drives economic growth, well-being and prosperity. It creates jobs at different skills levels and in areas where other employment opportunities are scarce," Scowsill says, adding that the council forecasts travel and tourism has the potential to contribute 94 million jobs and 10.3 percent of GDP to the Chinese economy by 2025.

But there are still areas of the Chinese industry that need to be improved, he says, such as its visa system, agreements on direct flights and marketing in order to bring more tourists into the country. The country's air quality problems should also remain a priority, he says.

Even though China has implemented the 72-hour visa-free transit to a number of major cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, most passengers do not stay in those cities, he says.

"We need to have a different approach that is more based on an electronic visa system than the normal visa process is. That is very important."

Scowsill says the United States and India have made tremendous changes to simplify their visa processing for people arriving in those countries.

Besides its visa issue, "China now is competing with other Asian countries for a share of inbound tourism," Scowsill says, adding that "what we see with most other countries is that they are growing very fast ... with international tourists arrival, and that means China needs a more concerted marketing program to bring people into the country."

What's more, Scowsill says, "the aviation infrastructure in China is very good now, but there needs to be a lot more agreements with other countries to allow more carriers to fly into China. Opening up the aviation industry is a critical way to improve imbalances in international arrivals."

Chinese outbound tourism rose 19.5 percent last year to 109 million visits, though the number of inbound tourists in China has declined in recent years.

The council forecasts that the US and China will retain their rankings as the world's two biggest travel and tourism economies, but says Germany has overtaken Japan to as the third-largest.

The industry contributed $7.58 trillion in GDP and 277 million jobs to the global economy last year, it says.

Ning Hui contributed to this story.

zhangchunyan@chinadaily.com.cn