WUHAN, Dec. 6 -- China's domestic tourism market is expected to see 6 billion journeys by 2020, said a senior official on Saturday.

The forecast was made by Li Jinzao, head of the China National Tourism Administration, at a seminar on how to help poor villages profit through tourism.

The majority of the top tourist destinations are in central and western regions and surrounded by many poor villages, said Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, at the same seminar.

Liu called for more rural tourism to become a new source of growth for the regions.