Six billion tourist trips expected in China this year
The China Tourism Academy revealed on Sunday it was forecasting a big increase in domestic travels this year, with about six billion trips to be made in the country this year. That’s compared to about 4.9 billion trips made last year when domestic tourism recovered to 80 percent of pre-Covid levels, according to the research organisation. It added that domestic tourism in China saw a significant recovery last year, with an annual growth rate of more than 100 percent in terms of both revenue and the number of tourists. As for international travel, the academy expects that more than 260 million inbound and outbound trips will be made this year, up from last year's 190 million. The country has ramped up efforts to promote the tourism industry and rolled out a slate of visa-free policies and arrangements with countries including Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. That's on tops of Beijing's earlier visa exemption arrangements with European countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Switzerland.