China Herald: International tourism: key growth industry

James Roy

Despite a relative slowdown in economic growth, international tourism has seen more Chinese than ever before. Preferences for other luxury expenditure is slowing down, says retail analyst James Roy to the VOA.

The VOA:

Over the last five years, the number of Chinese travelers doubled to 120 million people; one in ten international travelers is now from China.

James Roy, a Business Analyst at China Market Research Group, said Chinese tourists are now traveling farther, and to many more destinations. “You know in the past where it was more about buying an expensive watch or a bag, and showing that off, now it’s much more about sharing on social media all of the exotic places that you’ve been to,” Roy said.

The number of tourists into China also grew, but slightly, at just 2.2 percent in 2015. Tourism supported 65 million jobs in China, and made up 7.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Nearly 57 million foreign travelers came to China that year, spending more than $57 billion.

More in the VOA.

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