The Annual Report of China Outbound Tourism Development 2009-2010, recently released by the China Tourism Academy (CTA), estimated that 54 million travelers would go abroad this year, up from 47 million in 2009. This potential increase has been forecast by others. This report confirms them.
Jiang Yiyi, director of the academy’s international tourism development institute, said that the outbound travel market for the Chinese mainland would remain brisk this year.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, China will be the world’s fourth-largest source of outbound tourists by 2020, with 100 million overseas visits.
Spotting the huge market potential, many countries have striven to lure more free-spending Chinese tourists.
China Daily said a report by AC Nielson showed that Asian countries were the top choice for Chinese tourists with more than 60% of respondents favoring the destination. The region’s popularity was followed by Europe and Oceania.