CAPITALIZING ON CHINA’S POTENTIAL IN TRAVEL & TOURISM

13/10/2003

China is the Fourth Fastest Growing Travel & Tourism Economy in the World

World Travel & Tourism Council Makes Constructive Policy Recommendations to China's Government

October 13, 2003 Beijing - Today, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) presented a detailed report on China's Travel & Tourism to the government of China and to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), the Chinese government body that monitors and regulates travel and tourism in China.

The report makes projections about the economic impact and growth of Travel & Tourism in China. It also provides a series of policy recommendations intended to maximize the industry's impact on both China and the world economy. At today's report presentation event, activities and discussions focused on WTTC's policy recommendations to the government.

At the event Jean-Claude Baumgarten, WTTC's President, said:

"We believe that China will become a tourism economy like the world has never seen. The Chinese Government needs to prepare the groundwork for new consumer demand, by facilitating the development of transportation networks, infrastructure, tourism destinations, and a favourable policy environment."

According to research conducted by WTTC, Travel & Tourism will be an enormous catalyst for future economic and social development in China and around the world. The report covers both international and domestic tourism. Some of WTTC's 2004 headline projections were:

Annual Number of Jobs Created Directly by T & T 13.6 million

Annual Number of Jobs Created Directly and Indirectly by T & T 54.1 million

Travel & Tourism's Annual Contribution to China's GDP RMB289.2 billion

Travel & Tourism Growth 33.6%

Travel & Tourism will make an extraordinary contribution to China over next 10 years. Some statistics from the report include:

Annual growth rate of Travel & Tourism 10.9%

Travel & Tourism's Annual Contribution to China's GDP RMB 844.6 billion

Annual growth in Travel & Tourism's contribution to Employment 3.8%

Annual Number of Jobs Created Directly by T & T 16.1 million

Annual Number of Jobs Created Directly and Indirectly by T & T 65.8 million

Annual Growth in Visitor Exports 22.4%

In order for China to ensure that the Travel & Tourism industry reaches its full potential, WTTC's report made policy recommendations to the Chinese government, including:

• Create a ministerial level department with responsibility and authority over all aspects of Travel & Tourism
• Spin off and adequately fund the marketing and promotional responsibilities of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) to a newly created public-private organization, the China Tourism Board
• Facilitate hotel product diversification to create high quality small-sized hotels, true resort hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and other niche products, including low-cost, quality accommodation for the domestic market
• Consolidate state-owned enterprises into hotel groups and management companies
• Establish a National Convention Bureau to exploit business in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector
• Draw up regulations to allow a Timeshare market, that protects the consumer and allows legitimate developers to grow their businesses
• Adopt a "Pro-Poor" Tourism Policy (as defined by the United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development) and formulate a detailed action plan to assist the development of Western China's tourism resources
• Exempt the Travel & Tourism industry from permanent residence requirements to mobilize and retain human resources for the industry. This will mean opening to external expertise and encouraging a transition of China's workers to Travel & Tourism jobs
• Reform and liberalize financial services and eliminate China's reliance on cash-based transactions
• Establish a civil aviation strategy that will open air transport markets, increase the capacity of air traffic control systems, manage air space for military and civilian aircraft, align China's reservation system with other major world systems, invest in qualified aviation personnel, and relax controls on ticket pricing and revenue sharing
• Introduce a series of financial reforms and incentives to encourage investment in
• China's T & T industry

For Information and Photographs

In China:
Brion Tingler
8610 6443 6488 ext 345

In England:
enquiries@wttc.org

In the US:
Richard Miller
1 646 338 0300

Click below to download a copy of the China & Hong Kong Report