China to become world most popular tourist destination by 2020

China to become world most popular tourist destination by 2020

The World Tourism Organization predicts that in 2007, the number of overseas tourists in the Asia-Pacific region will grow at an annual rate of more than 4%, while China will become the world's No.4 most popular tourist destination. It is expected that China will exceed the United States to become the No. 1 tourist destination in the world by 2020,, the Yangcheng Evening News reported.

China's fast growing tourism industry has promoted the growth of other related industries, such as hotel industry and catering business. Many world-renowned hotels have established their chain hotels in China. Of the 200 five-star hotels in China, 60% are world famous brand hotels. In China, hotel business market is large and mature, which is irresistibly attractive to global hotel business. Their success in China means they have controlled a large market share in the world.

China's hotel industry started to generate profits in the fiscal year of 2005-2006, according to the "China Hotel Industrial and Research Report for the Year of 2007". The general performance of hotel industry is good as the accommodation rate of hotel rooms and the average price of rooms are both climbing. It is expected that the good situation will continue in 2007 and 2008, and hotel industry can continue to grow between 2007 and 2010.

In 2008, some 1,079 new hotels will open in the world, which can provide 131,517 guest rooms. This shows that in 2008, the net growth of new hotels will reach 2.8%. More hotel construction will begin in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in China, where nearly 50% of the new construction will occur. China's hotel industry has made the fastest development in the world. As a result, other industries related with hotels have also witnessed a fast momentum of growth. In China, demand for hotels increases at a rate of more than 10% every year.

Tourism Boom

China has seen a boom in tourism in recent years. The country's tourism industry is expected to bring record revenues of a trillion yuan, up ten percent from 2006, according to the National Tourism Administration.

Some 129 million inbound visitors from overseas are expected to visit China in 2007, five million more than that last year. Domestic tourists are projected to take 1.5 billion trips within the country, up eight percent against last year.

The Chinese government has been encouraging its citizens to travel more to stimulate domestic consumption. China earned 33.5 billion U.S. dollars from tourism last year, making the country the sixth highest tourism revenue earner in the world.

Source: ChinaNews

19th GMS Tourism Working Group Meeting in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

19th Meeting of the GMS Tourism Working Group

Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) is organising the 19th Meeting of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Tourism Working Group in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. The meeting is kindly being hosted by the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism and will be held on Thursday, March 29, 2007 from 09.00hrs – 18.30hrs. at the Rex Hotel .

Thereafter, a forum organised and sponsored by Asian Development Bank, Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism and Viet Nam Airlines will be held on Friday, March 30, 2007 also at the Rex Hotel

Entitle: Greater Mekong Subregion Sustainable Tourism Development Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Forum (TA 6279-REG) - Building a More Conducive Environment for Investment in Sustainable Tourism SMEs.

To know more about Mekong Tourism Forum or would like to know about Mekong Tourism and its activities, please check www.mekongtourism.org

Laos Opens Wartime 'Cave City' to Visitors

VIENGXAY, LAOS , March 6, 2007 -- A collection of dramatic caves that provided shelter to 23,000 Laotians during nine years of aerial bombardment in the Indochina War, has now been opened to the public.

Between 1964 and 1973 Laos became caught up in a secret war that remains largely ignored in world history. Up to 480 caves in Viengxay district in Houaphanh province were transformed into a de facto cave city. The caves were used to house leaders and fighters of the Phathet Lao army. Many caves had specialist functions such as hospital, shop, school, printing house, government office, bakery and theatre. In the hospital cave, patients were treated by Cuban doctors.

Today, five of the caves are open to the public. More caves will open soon. The surrounding area is a remote and scenic province of karst mountains, tall waterfalls, hot springs and a protected forest that is home to tigers and leopards. The area is rich in ethnic villages, silk weaving and archaeological sites. In the surrounding hills villagers live in simple wooden huts. Some still hunt with crossbows. Some weave intricate textiles on elaborate looms. Many grow rice on steep hillsides or in lush green paddies.

"At the height of the bombing it was impossible to imagine that tourists would one day wish to visit this place to learn about our experience," says Mr Phonekeo Latsachanh, who lived in one of the caves in Viengxay from 1964 to 1973. At the time he worked as an official in the cave designated as a trade office. "It's important that Lao people can now tell foreigners their story," he says.

Houaphanh province is the poorest in a country where 40% of the population survive on less than US$1 per day. Locally, tourism is now being heralded as a vital tool in the fight against poverty. The development of Viengxay has the support of the Laotian government. The Prime Minister's office has a permanent representative on the committee set up to oversee developments at Viengxay, the physical birthplace and spiritual cornerstone of modern-day Laos .

The Lao government has asked the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Netherlands Development Agency (SNV) and the Asian Development Bank to develop the location as a tourist destination and world peace site that focuses upon poverty reduction and the needs of local people.

Over 20 tourism and heritage trainers have been brought in by international organisations to deliver practical advice that will help villagers benefit from the expected growth in tourism. Former war heritage sites such as the Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam and the Killing Fields Memorial at Choeung Ek near Phnom Penh in Cambodia attract hundreds of international visitors daily.

The Lao government hopes to create similar interest in Viengxay where the Lao National Tourism Administration (LNTA) is recording oral histories that visitors can listen to while they walk around the network of caves. The plan is to develop Viengxay as a national heritage town to be explored on foot.

"The Lao vision is to recreate the caves and tell the people's story," says UNWTO's Dr Harsh Varma who believes events at the cave system were remarkable. "Viengxay was a triumph of ingenuity and comradeship in the face of what many historians believe was the longest and most intensive aerial bombardment in world history."

However, visitors to this remote corner of northeast Laos must not expect an easy journey. While helicopters can be hired to Viengxay's airstrip and the airport at Xam Neua, 29 kms away, the nearest airport with scheduled flights to Vientiane is Xieng Khouang, a six-hour drive from Viengxay.

An increasing number of budget travellers have been finding their way to Viengxay from both Luang Prabang and Xieng Khouang on Laos ' public bus system. Some visitors prefer to be driven in from the Vietnamese border, 55 kms away. Viengxay is a 300-km or eight-hour drive from Hanoi , and four hours from Mai Chau in Vietnam - an increasingly popular mountain destination with many hill-tribes.

Accommodation in Viengxay reflects the township's remote frontier status. There is one simple hotel with 16 rooms and three basic guest houses with a combined total of 26 rooms. Forty-five minutes away in Xam Neua, the provincial capital, there are three hotels offering a total of 45 rooms. Xam Neua has 16 guest houses.

"For tourists who take the time to reach Viengxay and the nearby attractions throughout northeast Laos , we can promise a very enriching and educational experience," says Mr Somphong Mongkhonvilay, Chairman of the LNTA. "Viengxay will be an increasingly important part of the Northern Laos Heritage Route ," he says.

The Heritage Route Mr Somphong is referring to links the World Heritage site of Luang Prabang to Houaphanh and the mysterious Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang.

The LNTA is due to unveil plans for Viengxay's 'cave city' development to international travel agents during the Lao Ecotourism Fair, July 26-29 in Vientiane . European film and TV documentary makers have already visited Viengxay and other programme makers are due to visit in the near future. In May, the UNWTO and SNV will help fund familiarisation trips for travel agents and foreign media.

With an average of only 10 visitors a day to the five open caves, Mr Siphan Vangduayang, Director of the Memorial Cave Office in Viengxay says: "We need more visitors. We had over 20,000 people living here all those years ago. We have room."

Information about Laos, please check Laos National Tourism Site:Site: www.tourismlaos.gov.la

Destination Cambodia - Part of GMS Project

DESTINATION CAMBODIA:

Part of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) project.

Tourism in the GMS has become increasingly multi-country. In a highly competitive world tourism market, the GMS can survive and grow only if it promotes a "one holiday, several destinations" type of tourism. Individual tourism sectors in the GMS countries can only prosper when they are strongly linked to others.

The MEKONG TOURISM DEVELOPMENT PROJECT aims to reduce poverty in the GMS countries, contribute to economic growth, increase employment, and promote the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage. The specific objective of the Project is to promote sustainable tourism in the lower Mekong basin countries through infrastructure improvements, community and private sector participation, and sub-regional cooperation.

The Project will improve high priority, tourism-related infrastructure in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam, promote pro-poor, community-based sustainable tourism in rural areas, and strengthen sub-regional cooperation. It will mitigate environmental degradation, develop human resources, and promote cooperation between private and public sectors within the GMS by establishing tourism marketing and promotion boards.

Please check for further information: www.mot.gov.kh/adb_mtdp/index_adb.htm