China to double spending on tourism sector

Beijing aims to double domestic spending on tourism by 2020 by offering financial and other support to develop the sector, the government said yesterday, as it seeks to boost spending at home to spur economic growth.

The mainland, home to wonders like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, has seen an explosion in tourist numbers in recent years, both domestic and foreign, but infrastructure has struggled to keep up.

State media regularly reports on popular sites being overwhelmed during peak seasons, and conservationists have criticised the government for poor planning, including the destruction of large parts of the historic old city in the capital.

The new guidelines seek to bring some order to this chaos and get mainlanders to spend more money at home, as the government tries to shift its economic model away from simply relying on exports and investment for growth.

By 2020, the government is aiming for spending on domestic tourism to reach 5.5 trillion yuan (HK$6.9 trillion), more than double the 2013 figure of 2.6 trillion yuan, with tourism accounting for more than 5 per cent of gross domestic product.

The plan, released on the central government's website, also aims for mainland citizens to take an average of 4.5 holidays a year - it does not specify whether at home or abroad - up from an average of 2.5 for 2013.