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 | Friday, May 05, 2000, updated at 11:00(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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Spring Holiday Ignites China's TourismChina's first week-long spring holiday, kicked off by May 1, International Labor Day, has ignited the country's tourism industry with millions of travelers flocking to time-honored scenic spots.In Beijing, tens of thousands of tourists have arrived daily since Monday. The per-day tourism revenue in southwestern Yunnan Province has exceeded 100 million yuan, and the number of visitors to the Lijiang River in Guilin over the past three days has beat the city record. Railways stations and airports in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and other major tourism cities have been swamped with tourists coming and going. The tourism wave is a direct result of the seven-day holiday and this week's ideal weather, said Wen Xiao'an, director of the Planning and Finance Department of the China National tourism Administration. Wen pointed out that other important factors have contributed to the phenomenon. China's economy has recorded unprecedented high growth since the policies of reform and opening up were introduced some two decades ago, accompanied by the steady growth of people's income. When people have basically all their material needs -- food, clothing and shelter -- they can think about luxuries like travel, he added. By the end of 1999, the average income for China's urban residents had jumped to 5,854 yuan over 1978's sum of 343 yuan; and rural residents' average income had multiplied from the yearly 134 yuan yearly to 2,210 yuan, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. For years, ordinary Chinese viewed travel as a pleasure reserved for the rich. Before 1978, their purchases were limited mostly to durable products such as bicycles, sewing machines, watches and radio sets. In the 1980s, they advanced to color TVs, refrigerators, washing machines and videocassette recorders, and later to telephones and air conditioners. Spending money on tourism has become popular in China only recently, and is a mindset that stems from the booming economy and growth in personal income, said Zhang Qizi with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. As China continues to open wider to the outside world and the pace of life speeds up, Chinese people's views about spending will also broaden, Zhang said. He noted that smaller families and the improved social security system have led Chinese to spend more and deposit less. Wang Yue, a tourist from Hefei city of Anhui Province, said: "I have been to Beijing several times, but always on business trips. This time, I brought my wife and son along, so he can learn from the rich historic and cultural relics here." China's travel industry got its big break with the country's reform policies, and the Chinese government realizes the importance of stimulating domestic demand for tourism. Last year, the central government added three public holidays to the official calendar, bringing the total number of days off, including weekends, to 114, and forming four lengthy periods for travel revolving around holidays: Spring Festival, International Labor Day, Summer Vacation and National Day. The country's domestic tourism market has benefited enormously from the move. Statistics from the National Tourism Administration indicate that last year's total number of domestic tourists exceeded 700 million, with tourism revenues from the sector soaring 18 percent to 283.1 billion yuan. To meet the surging demand of the tourism market, China has mapped out a plan to turn the country into a major world tourism destination within 20 years. According to the scheme, China's total tourism revenue is expected to hit 3.3 trillion yuan by 2020, accounting for 8 percent of the country's gross domestic product, and nearly double the current figure. Economists say that this is feasible, as it basically meets the expected growth rate of the country's economy and residents' income. It's also in keeping with people's desire to improve their quality of life with leisure activities such as travel.
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