Faced with a booming outbound tourism market that has grown by double-digits for five consecutive years, China is working to better protect its travelers abroad.
An emergency plan to deal with accidents involving Chinese tourists and a guide on how to seek consular assistance abroad have already been put into play, officials said at a press conference yesterday.
In the first half of the year, outbound tourism again increased by double digits, posting year-on-year growth of 14 percent, Liu Xiaojun, deputy director of the coordination department of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), said.
"And it is very likely outbound tourism during the coming Golden Week holiday will see double-digit growth," he said, adding that Europe, South Africa and islands in the South Pacific are all hot destinations this year.
But the brisk pace of development has brought challenges, he said.
Chen Xiongfeng, deputy director of the consular assistance center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Chinese tour groups abroad are very likely to "be visited by thieves".
"When I served a four-year term in New York, there were 20 to 30 such cases each year. With no money or passports, Chinese travelers will encounter many troubles," he said.
Tourists must learn to protect themselves, he said.
For example, they should avoid talking loudly in public places because that might attract thieves.
Reminders like this one are included in the guide on how to seek consular assistance overseas, he said. Thousands of copies of the guide were sent to Beijing's major outbound tourism agencies yesterday.
"We encourage travelers to log on to our website, www.fmprc.gov.cn. We have sections with basic information about more than 160 countries," he said.
"There will also be warnings to travelers that are based on our evaluations of safety conditions in the destination countries," he said.
Several government departments already issue travel advisories asking travelers to be careful or suggesting they not go to certain countries.
Last year, 34 million Chinese traveled abroad, making them the sixth largest group of outbound tourists, and the CNTA said the figure would reach 37.4 million this year. The UN World Tourism Organization forecast China would become the fourth largest source of outbound tourists by the mid-2010s.
Source: China Daily
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