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Beijing (pte008/24.11.2004/09:30) - More Chinese tourists have travelled to Europe in the past year than ever before. 29 European countries received Approved Destination Status (ADS) from the Chinese government this year, and as a result, thousands of Chinese travellers have headed to Europe for the first time, reports Focus on Travel News http://www.ftnnews.com . This Approved Destination Status means that Chinese citizens are able to travel to the approved countries without needing to apply for a special permission. The change has been so rapid that the number of flights between China and Europe has grown by 61 percent compared to September last year.
Last month, nearly 10,000 Beijingers headed for Europe during the so-called "Golden Week" of National Day Holidays. Although the tourists were only allowed to travel in groups, the restrictions are due to soften and Chinese travellers will have more freedom to choose what they want to see. This change is expected to attract even more experienced travellers.
"Asia Pacific National Tourist Organisations (NTOs) cannot afford to assume that Chinese tourists will travel closer to home", said Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Managing Director of the Strategic Intelligence Centre John Koldowski. "The whole world wants a slice of China's huge, growing and increasingly liberal market." According to Koldowski, the Asia Pacific tourism stakeholders will have to battle to retain market leadership of China. "Inbound numbers to western European destinations have generally been flat or seen only marginal growth. They haven't held much hope for accelerated growth until very recently. And the potential for that is right here in the PATA region."
China is the largest single consumer market in the world and has the sixth largest share of global Gross National Income. Chinese expenditure on travel is currently growing at 27 percent per year. The number of departures is expected to grow from 15 million in 2002 to 100 million by 2020. In response to these changes, Rising Star Exhibitions Ltd http://www.bittm.com have launched a new travel and tourism exhibition and conference, which is set to take place in Beijing between the 20th and 23rd of April 2005.
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