China will overtake France as a global tourist destination by 2030, according to a new report from research company Euromonitor International, The Guardian reports.
And this is not the only predicted achievement of the Celestial Empire. In 12 years, China will become the leader in the number of travelers leaving the country, and will overtake the United States and Germany in this indicator. Experts are confident that by 2030 the outbound flow abroad will amount to 260 million people.
As noted by Euromonitor International, tourism has become one of the key pillars of the Chinese economy. According to the study, in the future, China's tourism market will become the largest in the world. This will happen largely due to visitors from Asia, including Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The increase in visits to China is mainly due to economic growth and higher incomes of citizens of neighboring Asian countries. In recent years, visa regulations with Asian countries have become much easier. However, for tourists from the US and UK, obtaining even a single-entry Chinese visa is still difficult and expensive.
Domestic tourism is also growing in China. In 2018, domestic trips reached 4.7 billion, and by 2023, that figure is expected to rise to 6.7 billion. As tourism becomes increasingly important to China, the regional industry council aims to use it to boost rural economies. In 2017, China launched the “All for One” tourism program, focusing on cultural diversity and environmental sustainability.
According to the UN World Tourism Organization, France topped the list of countries most visited by foreign citizens. In 2017, 86.9 million people visited the country. Spain and the United States were second and third in terms of number of guests.
Source: news.turizm.ru
