A Senior official with the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) has said that China is expected to contribute a great deal to global tourism recovery in 2010.
Taleb Rifai, the Secretary General of the UNWTO, said global tourism experienced the most difficult year in 2009 when revenue dropped by four per cent.
The UNWTO forecast that global tourism revenue in 2010 was expected to grow by two to three per cent and China would contribute greatly to that growth, he said.
He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2010 Boao International Tourism Forum. According to a report by STR Global, Beijing reported an occupancy increase for January 2010 (year-over-year), rising 41.9 per cent to 51.0 per cent, followed by Shanghai, (+41.4 per cent to 49.1 per cent)Cultural tourism will be a key focus for the country in 2010. Starting this year the Ministry of Culture and the National Tourism Administration will hold a theme year of cultural tourism every four years, an international cultural tourism festival every two years and support eight to 10 local cultural tourism events, it was reported by Cai Wu, China’s Minister of Culture in China Daily.
China is to enlist key cultural tourism projects and provide them with favorable policies and support in information and marketing, he added.
“The environment-friendly cultural tourism industry will create jobs, boost local economies and meet people’s cultural and spiritual needs”, he concluded.