Rolf Freitag, the CEO of IPK International, a world travel research monitor that tracks the trends in outbound travel demand, told Xinhua: "China is very dynamic and is finding it ‘s place in the world. This year’s economic recovery will come from the East to the West."
In 2010, IPK’s travel research envisions that Chinese outbound travel will bolster a 4% increase in tourism compared to Europe’s stagnation and a 5% decrease in the US.
According to statistics presented at the 44th annual ITB Tourism Trade Show in Berlin on Wednesday, the tourism sector in Europe and North America has been hardest hit in the crisis, with a 19% decrease in 2009.
Commenting on the Wednesday report, Austrian Airlines Account Manager Herbert Eckl said: "I hope we will still get our budget this year."
Freitag said he believes that although "it was unavoidable that tourism would become a victim of the financial crisis … a turnaround
is on the horizon."
EngishNews.cn reports that this year’s ITB ran from March 10 to March 14 at the Berlin Exhibition Center.