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More Opportunities for Citizens to Travel Abroad
China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have decided to co-operate on regulating the market of outbound travel for Chinese citizens, According to report of China Daily.
The decision was made on Monday at a ministerial meeting in Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province.
He Guangwei, director of the China National Tourism Administration, said the measure will maintain the healthy growth of tourism and foster development in China and Southeast Asia.
He said China has become an important source market for tourists heading to the three countries.
"Tours to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia will meet the demand of Chinese people for traveling abroad and enhance the traditional friendships between the countries," He said.
As the living standard of Chinese people improves, more are interested in traveling.
Between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Chinese people began to visit relatives in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.
In 1999, the number of Chinese outbound travellers reached 9.23 million, 2.5 times the figure of 1993. China has become one of the top tourism revenue-generating countries in Asia.
Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia were the first tourist destinations open to Chinese citizens.
Given the good diplomatic relations, cultural and geographical proximity, travel to these countries soon took off.
Top tourism officials from the four countries, including Hon. Dato'Abdul Kadir, minister of culture, arts and tourism of Malaysia, Adisai Bodharamik, minister to the Prime Minister's Office of the Royal Kingdom of Thailand, and Teo Khee Leng, chief executive of Singapore Tourism Board, attended the meeting.
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