The "2007 China travel and tourism economic research," published by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) earlier this year, shows that in 2007, China's personal travel expenses are expected to reach approximately 900 billion Yuan, making up 10.1 percent of the total amount of personal, individual consumption. By 2017, China's personal travel expenses will reach 3.5 trillion Yuan, making up 11.5 percent of the total amount of personal, individual consumption.

The report says that in 2007, China's general travel expenses expect to increase by 13.3 percent; while from 2008 to 2017, it will increase 9.6 percent per year.

Last year, the number of overseas tourists in China amounted to approximately 50 million people, the number of tourists traveling abroad reached about 35 million, and the number of domestic tourists was approximately 1.4 billion. China has become a traveling destination and source of markets that has increasingly attracted more worldwide attention.

By People's Daily Online