Bangkok--Nov 7--eTurboNews
BEIJING, China ( eTurboNews ): China, including Hong Kong has been confirmed by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) as Asia's top tourism destination in 2004, with an all time high of 42 million arrivals, a jump of 27%.
It is also now the fourth most visited destination in the world, after France (75 million), Spain (53 million), and the USA (46 million).
" For the first nine months of 2005 China received 89.6 million visitors, up 12.2 % compared to the same period in 2004, " said Sun Gang, deputy director of National Tourism Administration." The country's tourism industry reported foreign exchange earnings of US$22 billion in the first nine months of the year, up 18.2% year over the same period in 2004."
Separately, Hong Kong recorded visitor arrivals of 22 million, up 40% in 2004, putting it in 7th position. Both China and Hong Kong showed an increase of up to 9% a year from 1995 to 2004, putting it among the top 10 destinations in the world.
Following the SARS outbreak scare in China and Hong Kong in 2004, China's tourism industry recovered from the setbacks by posting a spectacular gain of 27 % in visitor arrivals.
The International Hotel & Restaurant Association has projected that China will see 100 million arrivals from outside the mainland in 2005, making it the world's biggest tourist destination.
The International Hotel & Restaurant Association is the only global organization in the hotel and catering sector ratified by the United Nations. It has 150 members worldwide.
For more information, please contact
[email protected]
http://www.travelwirenews.com/medie End.