Tourism
Tourism Market
Thanks to its high mountains,
elegant rivers, springs and waterfalls, rich and varied folk customs and styles, rare animals and plants, numerous scenic spots and historical sites, distinctive operas, music and dances, and its
world-renowned cuisine, China attracts a large number of domestic and foreign tourists every year. Today, China has one of the largest domestic tourism markets in the world and an outbound
tourism market with the highest rate of growth in the world.
In 2003, the major economic index of China's tourism experienced the first decrease since the 1990s. The outbreak of SARS is the direct cause for the heavy losses
in China's tourism. Starting from May 1, 2003, the Ministry of Finance, the State Taxation Administration and other related departments took measures to reduce or exempt
taxes, and to issue subsidized loans to tourism and other related trades. The practice lasted till the end of 2003. In the third season after the SARS crisis was over, the
domestic tourism market quickly began to pick up, and the incoming tourist trade also resumed. By the end of September, the number of incoming tourists increased
2.17 percent over the same period of 2002, turning the tide of six-month-decrease starting in March 2003. As of October, the number of incoming tourists surpassed that of
the same period in the previous year, so tourism income began to increase.
As for outbound tourism, the Chinese government has
approved 59 countries and regions as tourist destinations for Chinese citizens traveling at their own expense, among which 28 destinations can be reached through formal
travel agencies. According to the World Tourist and Travel Council ("WTTC"), China's tourist and tourism industry may grow by an annual rate of 10.4 percent in the following 10
years, and that will rank China fourth in the world in terms of the tourism industry. The World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020 China will become the No. 1 tourist
destination in the world and the fourth in the number of tourists traveling abroad.
 
Tourist Services
Helping to guide visitors to many fine Chinese hotels and restaurants and other tourism services are some 1,349 travel agencies that handle China's international travel business among which
248 are located in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing. In a country with some 8,880 star-rated hotels, China in all its large and medium-sized cities and tourist sites has hotels
with complete facilities and excellent services for both domestic and international tourists.
On June 12, 2003, the China National Tourism Administration and the
Ministry of Commerce put forth a joint Interim Regulations on the Establishment of Foreign-Holding or Foreign-Funded Travel Agencies. On July 18,
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