Countries need to open up to Chinese tourists
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Countries need to relax visa regulations for mainland Chinese tourists if they want fully take advantage of the potential boom in outbound travellers, a new tourism book has stated.
Reported by Xinhua, China’s Tourism Green Book, written by Zhang Guangrui, Director of the Tourism Research Centre at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that visa difficulties are hindering the potential influx of Chinese tourists.
“Very few countries and regions offer tourists from the mainland visa-free or visa-friendly policies,” Zhang was reported saying.
But the problem is reciprocal, Zhang added, with China ranking only 128th out of 147 countries by the World Economic Forum in terms of its visa policy toward visitors. This policy hinders inbound tourism and, in turn, discouraged countries from allowing visa-less or visa-on-arrival travel for Chinese tourists.
The China’s outbound tourism market has been increasing in recent years. According to the country’s National Tourism Administration, more than 45 million tourists from the mainland visited overseas destinations last year – a year-on-year increase of nearly 12%, in contrast to the global average growth of less than 2%.
China’s Tourism Green Book, in an annual publication highlighting China’s tourism.
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