The Entry Into WTO Will Speed up TourismChina's accession to the World Trade Organization will exert a positive impact on the country's tourism sector and will also create huge opportunities for its development.These remarks were made by an official of the China National Tourism Administration at the China Scenic Spot and Resort Exhibition in this northeast China port city of Dalian. China's tourism industry emerged with the adoption of the country's reform and opening up policy in late 1978, Since then, the tourism industry has been developing rapidly, said Wei Xiao'an, director of CNTA's Planning and Finance Department. Almost every sector of tourism has opened up to foreign businesses, except the travel service agencies, where only several Sino-overseas joint-ventures have been approved. "This means that China's tourism sector is well aware of overseas competition," Wei said. He admitted that as overseas businesses break into the Chinese domestic market, competition will be acute. This will prompt domestic companies to make travel operations more efficient in accordance with international standard. However, Wei pointed out that if overseas travel services successfully break into the Chinese market, they may take away a considerable share from China's international tourism market. This would mean the shut-down of many small domestic travel services engaging international tourism industry and foreign currencies leaving the country. China has more than 6,000 travel agencies, of which 1312 are qualified to organize tours for overseas tourists coming to China. But many of them are small and lack an efficient operation system. Wei brushed aside worries of the possible shut-down of many small travel agencies, saying that it is not totally a bad thing. "At least this will warn other travel agencies that they either improve their business and services or face the possibility of being shut-down," he said. Even if all the 1,312 international travel agencies are forced to set up joint-ventures with overseas competitors, China's international tourism revenue will still make profits as long as overseas tourists coming to China increase by 1 million a year, he said. Since 1978, China's tourism has grown steadily, especially in the international sector. Statistics indicate that in 1999, overseas arrivals reached 72 million, with revenue from international tourism reaching US$11.4 billion. In the first three months of this year, international tourism in China continued to climb. During this period, China received more than 19 million overseas tourists and earned over US$3.6 billion, an increase of 15.2 percent and 17.7 percent over the same 1999 period respectively. Wei said that the expansion of China's tourism largely goes to its unique tourism resources. |
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