Zhang Guangrui, director of the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASSTRC), said, "Domestic and inbound tourism will be boosted by the Expo 2010 Shanghai, and outbound tourism will grow faster spurred by sporting events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa."
Domestic tourism expenditures are expected to grow by 20% in 2010, and inbound tourism will rebound after last year’s recession, according to figures from a green book on China’s tourism development released by the CASSTRC.
Zhang Guangrui said, "The global financial crisis and the spread of A (H1N1) hit inbound tourism hard last year, and it will rebound this year due to the world economic recovery and the Shanghai Expo’s effect."
Figures from the green book show that the number of inbound trips was 126 million in 2009, a 3% decrease year-on-year. Officials expect the Shanghai Expo will attract 70 million tourists, but only 5% of them will come from overseas.
Global Times reported Zeng Bowei, an academic at the National Tourism Administration, said, "Among the 126 million inbound trips, about 20 million were made by foreigners, not including compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, but they contributed 56% of foreign exchange revenues generated by inbound tourism in 2009. We should focus on attracting foreign visitors to boost inbound tourism revenues."