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April 7, 2017

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China up to 15th in tourism ranking

Source: Xinhua | 00:01 UTC+8 April 7, 2017 | Print Edition

China has risen two positions to 15th in the latest global tourism competitiveness ranking, released by the World Economic Forum yesterday.

The forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks 136 countries and regions across 14 dimensions, revealing how well countries could deliver sustainable economic and societal benefits through their travel and tourism sector.

While advanced economies, such as Spain, France and Germany, continue to top the rankings, 12 of the top 15 most improved countries are emerging markets, with Asia’s as exponents.

“The rise of Asia’s giants shows that the Asian Tourism Century is becoming a reality,” said Tiffany Misrahi, WEF’s community lead of the aviation, travel and tourism industries.

As one of Asia’s giants, China received nearly 57 million tourists in 2016, which took up over 20 percent of global arrivals in Asia, the report said.

It attributes the improvement of China’s tourism competitiveness ranking mainly to the country’s increased international openness, improved information and communications technology readiness and further investments in its tourist service infrastructure.

China’s increased prioritization of its travel and tourism industry has also supported its rise, the report said.

Meanwhile, the WEF report suggested more measures to support the country’s continued rise in the ranking, including creating more accommodation capacity beyond the larger cities, a more enabling environment for doing business, and environmental sustainability to ensure the preservation of its unique natural resources.

The report also sees China as a largest source market in the region with nearly 128 million departures registered in 2015. But the potential is still huge, as the report finds out that only 5 percent of China’s population hold a passport.

It also found that the increasingly protectionist global context, one that is hindering global trade, is not holding back global travel.

WEF’s statistics showed the global travel and tourism sector accounted for 10 percent of global GDP and provided one in 10 jobs worldwide.

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