20 Mar 2017
20-Mar-2017
Source: ASEAN Secretariat News
ASEAN, China to boost tourist traffic in the year of tourism cooperation
MANILA, 20 March 2017 – The opening ceremony of the 2017 ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation took place at Philippine International Convention Centre in Manila on 16 March.
In 2016, ASEAN and China experienced significant growth of tourism exchange. The total number of tourist arrivals from China to ASEAN was 19.8 million, an increase of 6.4% compared to 2015, while the number of ASEAN tourists to China recorded 10.34 million, an increase of 57.8 %. With the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation, two-way traffic would be further boosted, as there would be more events and activities, such as promotion campaigns, family trips, press trips and joint booths at travel marts organised in both ASEAN Member States and China.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Chairman of National Tourism Administration of the People’s Republic of China, ASEAN tourism ministers or representatives, and Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Economic Community Department Lim Hong Hin. The Special Meeting of ASEAN-China National Tourism Organisations at the same venue preceded the Opening Ceremony.
The adopted press release of the Special Meeting is available here.