With more Chinese tourists going abroad, China is playing a bigger role in world tourism and economy. In 2015, Chinese outbound visitor traffic reached 120 million, up by 12% YoY, and they spent USD 104.5 billion, increased by 16.7% YoY, according to data from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA). Chinese tourists will have bigger and bigger influence in the international community amid global economic recession.   

China has been the world’s largest outbound tourism consumer market since 2012 and has been contributing more than 13% of worldwide tourism annual income on average, according to data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). In 2015, China’s outbound visitor traffic and overseas tourist spending continued to rank the top of the world.  

According to data from United States Travel and Tourism Administration (USTTA), Chinese travelers made 3 million trips to the United States in 2015, up by 16% YoY, and Chinese tourists spent USD 6000-7000 per capita, far higher than the spending of visitors from the rest of the world. Data of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) also show that Chinese tourists spent USD 2200 per capita in South Korea in 2015. The revenue brought comprehensive economic benefits worth USD 22 billion to the country , equivalent to 1.6% of the country’s GDP. Australia received one million Chinese visitors in 2015 and generated tourism receipts of about RMB 35.5 billion from Chinese visitors, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).   

UNWTO data show that international tourist arrivals in the first half year of 2015 reached 538 million, up by 4% YoY. The tourism sector contributed USD 7.8 trillion to the global GDP in the period, constituting 10% of the total. The sector also created 284 million jobs which constituted 9.5% of the global employments. 

Chinese enterprises are also picking up the pace in going global along with the growth of Chinese outbound visitor traffic. For example, Jin Jiang International acquired Louvre Hotels Group with EUR 1.3 billion, and China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation forked out GBP 400 million to acquire UK's Kew Garden Hotels, which also owned The Grand Brighton. (Translation by Jerry)