One of the fruits of the immensely successful World Expo in Shanghai was an increase in inbound tourism.
Shao Qiwei, director of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), said, "The tourism of Expo has brought direct revenue of more than RMB80 billion (US$12 billion) and the impact of Expo is not only the push for the economy. Post-Expo time has raised the curtain for further development."
According to CNTA statistics, inbound tourism increased by 6.21% from January to September and revenue was up 15.78% compared with the same period last year.
China International Travel Service (CITS) launched an inbound tourism website at the end of last moth. The website is targeted at tour operators rather than tourists and focuses on direct online sales.
Wang Jibin, CITS general manager of inbound tours, was quoted by China.org.cn as saying, "This year, influenced by Expo, CITS’ inbound tourism increased by 40%."