| Chinese travellers abroad will
have four new countries to select as destinations beginning June 10. According to the China National Tourism
Administration, China has reached agreements with Viet Nam, Cambodia, Myanmar and the
Sultanate of Brunei to permit travel within their borders by Chinese citizens in organized
tours.
China Travel Service and China Southern
Airlines plan to organize the first trip to two of the new countries - an eight-day group
tour in Viet Nam and Cambodia, that will start on June 15.
In past years, Chinese citizens could only
travel by bus near the border areas between China and Viet Nam and Myanmer. They were not
allowed to cross over the border.
China has now approved 15 countries as
tourism destinations, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
Discussions with European and American
countries are still in the pipeline.
Because of its huge population, China has
attracted the attention of tourist administrations in a number of other countries, who see
it as a massive potential market.
"The battle has already begun for the
world to attract Chinese tourists," Francesco Frangialli, secretary-general of the
World Tourism Organization, said during a visit to China in March.
Experts point to China's skyrocketing
economy as the reason for all the interest in Chinese tourists, who now have enough
disposable income to travel abroad. In 2000, China's gross national product (GDP)
surpassed US$1,000 billion for the first time, with personal bank deposit savings rising
to US$846 billion.
"Switzerland's heavenly views are not
far from you," reads one billboard on the Third Ring Road in Beijing. It features
pictures of mountains and skiers.
How far away is Switzerland from ordinary
Chinese people? "As China develops its economy and strengthens co-operation with
Europe, we believe Switzerland will become a favourite tourist destination of Chinese
people," said Zhang Wenjia, chief representative in China for Switzerland Tourism.
Switzerland is just one of the promoters
actively courting China's future tourists.
To aid their efforts, the Chinese
Government has begun encouraging Chinese citizens to travel abroad.
Jorg Wuttke, chairman of the German Chamber
of Commerce, has devoted himself to Sino-German economic co-operation. He said it is a
long-term strategy among all countries to strive to attract Chinese tourists.
"We are working all out for a tourism
agreement to ensure the legal rights of tourists and to seek co-operation between tourist
agencies after China's entry into the World Trade Organization," said Xu Shengli, a
representative in China for the German National Tourism Office.
France, Austria, and the state of Hawaii in
the United States have also sent people to lobby for co-operation with China on tourism.
The number of countries like these is on the rise.
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