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[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
(ChinaDaily) The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) released a list of the world's top 10 travel events for the year on Thursday.
The tourism industry is an important pillar in each country's national economy. The year 2015 witnessed a raft of significant changes in the worldwide tourism landscape. From the US's attempt to draw more international visitors by easing its visa policy, to the 10% contribution tourism makes to China's GDP, we see an ever-increasing role of tourism in a country's development strategy. From the short-term pain brought to Paris tourism by the ISIS attacks, to Russia's sanction against Turkey's travel industry, we see tourism's intertwined relations with international politics and world economic dynamics.
By presenting the major events that happened on the world stage in 2015, we hope you can have a new perspective in anticipating 2016.
1. Tourism contributes 10% of China's GDP
In 2015, visits paid by domestic tourists exceeded 4 billion and total revenue also surpassed 4 trillion yuan. The outbound tourist total hit a record 120 million.
China's domestic travels, outbound tourist visits, domestic tourism consumption and outbound tourism consumption all ranked among the top in the world.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimated that the total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to China's GDP will be 10.1% this year, performing better than the education, banking and automobile industries.
The National Tourism Data Center also estimated that the travel & tourism sector supported 10.2% of total employment in the country this year.
The China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) released a list of the world's top 10 travel events for the year on Thursday.
The tourism industry is an important pillar in each country's national economy. The year 2015 witnessed a raft of significant changes in the worldwide tourism landscape. From the US's attempt to draw more international visitors by easing its visa policy, to the 10% contribution tourism makes to China's GDP, we see an ever-increasing role of tourism in a country's development strategy. From the short-term pain brought to Paris tourism by the ISIS attacks, to Russia's sanction against Turkey's travel industry, we see tourism's intertwined relations with international politics and world economic dynamics.
By presenting the major events that happened on the world stage in 2015, we hope you can have a new perspective in anticipating 2016.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
2. 21st UNWTO General Assembly held in Columbia
The 21st UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organization) General Assembly was held on Sept 14 in Medellin, Colombia. Nine hundred representatives and 70 ministers and state secretaries attended the conference.
UNWTO, which has 156 member countries, six territories, two permanent observers and over 450 affiliate members, is a specialized agency of the UN that aims to promote the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves a central role as a global forum for tourism policy issues as well as tourism information.
China will host the next World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) General Assembly in Chengdu in 2017, a decision made by the 21st UNWTO General Assembly.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
3. UN names 2017 Int'l Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development
The UN General Assembly passed a resolution on Dec 4 that 2017 would be the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
This decision was welcomed by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, who said the decision was a chance to "advance the contribution of the tourism sector to the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social, and environmental."
Rifai added it would also raise awareness of a p
art
of the tourism industry that is often "undervalued," and said his organization would collaborate with "governments and relevant organizations," to ensure it was a success.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
4. "Toilet Revolution"
The China National Tourism Administration launched a three-year campaign in January called the "Toilet Revolution", which aims to build 33,000 restrooms across the nation by 2017 and renovate 24,000 facilities.
As an important measure of the "515" strategy for promoting tourism development, the "Toilet Revolution" has become a gigantic tourism infrastructure project, civility project and livelihood project in the urban-rural public service sector.
Li Jinzao, director of CNTA said that "toilets may be small but they reflect the level of civilization in a country".
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
5. US Visa Waiver Program expanded to 38 countries
In May, US Commerce secretary Penny Pritzker said at the US Travel Association's annual IPW event that the number of countries qualifyingfor the Visa Waiver Program will be increased to 38. Visa wait time will be shortened and a series of Airport Action Plans will be implemented to simplify and streamline entry for visitors at 17 US airports.
For Chinese visitors in particular, whose number has increased steadily in recent years (the US received 2.19 million visitors from China in 2014, a 21 percent increase over 2013) and is expected to continue to grow in the near future, visa validity has been from one to 10 years.
This is all part of the US's efforts to attract more international visitors
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
6. Spain tops global tourism competitiveness list in 2014
According to the World's Economic Forum's travel and tourism report in May, Spain heads the list as the number one most tourist-friendly country in the world. The ranking looks at 14 indexes in 141 countries, places listing after Spain are France, Germany, America and Britain. Japan, being ranked at ninth, is the most tourism-competitive country in Asia, while China rises from 45th in 2012 to 17th this year.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
7. Paris tourism drops after ISIS Attacks
The attacks that stormed Paris on Nov 13 have scared swarms of tourists off the French capital due to security concerns. The city , which is one of the world's most visited cities, has seen revenues from the catering industry drop by 30% and plunge 26% in the hotel sector.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
8. Russia imposes sanctions against Turkey’s tourism industry
President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Nov28 imposing punitive economic sanctions against Turkey after the jet shootdown incident, which has frozen the two countries' bilateral relations. The decree includes a series of measures against Turkey's tourism, including a ban of tour packages sales to Turkey, prohibiting all charter flights to Turkey and banning Russian travel firmsfrom selling holidays there. The sanction is predicted to deliver a hard blow to Turkey's tourism industry since the country has long been the top foreign travel destination for Russians.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
9. Ebola outbreak is over, Africa expects a tourism resurrection
After the WHO announced that Ebola outbreak in West Africa was over, countries like Sierra Leone are reopening doors to welcome visitors, hoping that a boom in tourism can prompt a economic recovery. Ebola virus is one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind and caused an expected tourism fall-off following years of economic recession.
[Photo/China National Tourism Administration]
10. The first World Tourism Development Conference will be held inBeijingin 2016
Co-hosted by the Chinese government and the United Nations World Tourism Organization and undertaken by the National Tourism Bureau, the first World Tourism Development Conference will be held in Beijing May 18-21 in 2016.
The conference will be themed, "Tourism facilitates peace and development"; tourism's role in promoting development, peace and lifting people in peripheral areas out of poverty will be the main topical issues at the conference.
