China Attractions & Amenities
Tourism has become an essential contributor to China’s domestic economy since the beginning of reform and opening in the early eighties. The emergence of an affluent middle class and an easing of movement restrictions for locals and foreign visitors are both supporting this travel boom. The Chinese tourism market has transformed into one of the world’s most-watched inbound and outbound tourist markets. The number of domestic trips reached six billion in 2019, indicating an exponential increase compared to the number of trips made in China ten years ago.
The total revenue generated by the travel and tourism industry in China amounted to around 5.7 trillion yuan as of 2019, indicating a firm growth over the past decade. The sector was expected to contribute 3.3 percent to China’s gross domestic product (GDP) directly by 2028. Meanwhile, more than 28 million people worked in the tourism industry. The impact of tourism on China’s employment market is even larger if indirect employment is considered.
China boasts a large number of attractions, such as historical sites and relics, economic hot spots, and a culturally diverse number of minorities. Therefore, the country has become one of the most popular travel destinations for many countries, such as Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Maldives, Russia, and the United Kingdom. In 2019, the 145-million inbound tourists created a total revenue of nearly 36 billion U.S. dollars in China. The majority of the inbound tourists arrived at Guangdong Province, a southern province adjacent to Hong Kong SAR. For outbound tourism, spendings of Chinese outbound travelers reached approximately 254 billion U.S. dollars. The most popular travel destination for young Chinese luxury travelers was Europe, with a share of 61 percent, followed by Japan and South Korea. China’s mass-market’s leading international travel destinations are Canada, Singapore, Australia, Japan, and the United States.