BEIJING, June 1 -- China is leading the global tourism industry, having done what few other countries -- including developed Western nations -- haven't: acknowledge the effects that the travel and tourism industry have on the economy.
China has declared tourism to be "a strategic pillar of its economic reform," said Jean-Claude Baumgarten, president of London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, at the WTTC's 10th annual summit Wednesday in Beijing.
Last November, the State Council approved policies that will promote the industry under the "Guidelines to Accelerate the Development of the Tourism Industry."
The world's leaders in travel and tourism are gathered in the capital city to assess the industry's development, offering a cautiously optimistic outlook and acknowledging its resilience in a year of seemingly endless crises.
Despite the global economic recession, China is now the second-largest tourism market in the world, behind only the U.S., which has been losing its market share over the last decade.
Chinese industry leaders boasted impressive figures while highlighting government efforts to further tourism development.
The Chinese made 1.9 billion domestic trips last year and 46 million overseas trips, said Shao Qiwei, chairman of China National Tourism Association, adding that China has become the biggest source for outbound tourism in Asia.
And he cited a World Tourism Organization prediction that China will become the largest nation for inbound tourism and the fourth-largest source of outbound tourism in the world by 2015.
