The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) predicted in Beijing on Monday that over the next decade China will become the second largest travel and tourism industry in the world, after the United States.

The research contains projections for the growth of travel and tourism in China and a series of policy recommendations intended to maximize the economic potential of China's tourism industry as a catalyst for job creation.

WTTC forecasts that investment and government spending in tourism will grow 14.0 percent in China and total 2,770.3 billion yuan (US$353.7 billion) in 2006. From 2007 to 2016 the industry is forecast to grow at 8.7 percent per year. This makes China's travel and tourism the second fastest growing in the world.

According to WTTC, spending by inbound international visitors is expected to total 588.2 billion yuan (US$75.1 billion) in 2006, equaling 7.4 percent of the country's export industry. Travel and tourism contributes 2.9 percent to the total GDP. The combined, direct and indirect spending by tourists expected to make up 13.7 percent of the GDP in 2006.

China's travel and tourism industry is expected to account for 2.3 percent of total employment in 2006. The industry provides 17,383,000 jobs.

The travel and tourism economy also creates 'spill-over' employment associated with capital investment and government spending. This accounts for 77,600,000 jobs or 10.2 percent of total employment.

In order for China to realize its potential in travel and tourism, the WTTC's made a series of recommendations to the Chinese tourism industry.

It suggests adding two weeks of additional paid vacation of Chinese workers to encourage them to travel more and in different seasons. Unlock the potential of domestic tourism by developing more less-expensive hotels; improve air travel and removing barriers to growth; develop a well-balanced regulatory framework for time-share accommodations to help fuel the future growth of the industry while protecting the consumer's interests; expand English language services by requiring travel and tourism programs to offer language course to its new employees; enhance safety and security in the light of terrorism and natural disasters by creating contingency plans.

WTTC is a forum for business leaders in the travel and tourism industry. The chief executives of some one hundred of the world's leading travel and tourism companies are members. The WTTC works to raise awareness of travel and tourism which it says is one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 230 million people and generating over 10 percent of world GDP.

(Xinhua News Agency April 25, 2006)