The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) released a list of the world's top 10 travel events for the year on Dec 24, 2015.
The tourism industry is an important pillar in each country's national economy. The year 2015 witnessed a raft of significant changes in the worldwide tourism landscape. From the US's attempt to draw more international visitors by easing its visa policy, to the 10% contribution tourism makes to China's GDP, we see an ever-increasing role of tourism in a country's development strategy. From the short-term pain brought to Paris tourism by the ISIS attacks, to Russia's sanction against Turkey's travel industry, we see tourism's intertwined relations with international politics and world economic dynamics.
By presenting the major events that happened on the world stage in 2015, we hope you can have a new perspective in anticipating 2016.
1. Tourism contributes 10% of China's GDP
In 2015, visits paid by domestic tourists exceeded 4 billion and total revenue also surpassed 4 trillion yuan. The outbound tourist total hit a record 120 million.
China's domestic travels, outbound tourist visits, domestic tourism consumption and outbound tourism consumption all ranked among the top in the world.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to China's GDP will be 10.1% this year, performing better than the education, banking and automobile industries.
The National Tourism Data Center also estimated that the travel & tourism sector supported 10.2% of total employment in the country this year.
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| (Photo / China National Tourism Administration) |
2. 21st UNWTO General Assembly held in Columbia
The 21st UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) General Assembly was held on Sept 14 in Medellin, Colombia. Nine hundred representatives and 70 ministers and state secretaries attended the conference.
UNWTO, which has 156 member countries, six territories, two permanent observers and over 450 affiliate members, is a specialized agency of the UN that aims to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves a central role as a global forum for tourism policy issues as well as tourism information.
China will host the next World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in Chengdu in 2017, a decision made by the 21st UNWTO General Assembly.
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| (Photo / China National Tourism Administration) |
