
Tourism industry in China ā additional information
The global tourism industry had generated between six to seven trillion U.S. dollars in revenue over the past years. The term tourism in this context includes travel for recreation, leisure, business or other purposes. As an interlinked industry, tourism has an impact on several other industries such as retail, accommodation and transportation. In 2013, China was the worldās largest travel and tourism economy with a global market share of 11 percent, surpassing the United States.
With rising standards of living, the tourism industry in China experienced a substantial growth spur over the last decade. The Chinese tourism industry reported a 14 percent increase in revenue to almost three trillion yuan in 2013. That year, the industry directly employed about 27 million people. Being the fourth largest country in the world by land area, China provides a wide range of natural, historical and cultural sites. Chinaās tourism industry consists of domestic and international tourism. Around three billion domestic trips had been made in 2012. Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou were among the most popular domestic destinations during the seven-day-long Chinese National Day holiday. Whereas Chinaās domestic tourism is booming, international tourism numbers have been held back by environmental problems. The number of inbound tourists to China had ranged at seven million visitors in 2012, up barely 0.3 percent compared to the previous year. The grave situation in Chinaās inbound tourism may be connected to the countryās heavy air and water pollution.