CHINA’S TOURISM: An overview service quality in national tourism and leisure, 国民旅游休闲
General Introduction
Up to now, China has become one of the world top international tourism destinations as well as source countries since late 1990s, ranking N0.1 in Asia and Pacific, and No. 4 or 5 in the world in terms of both international arrivals and income, and among the world top ten in terms of international departures according to UNWTO.
Tourism restarted in China in early 1950s after founding of the People’s Republic, but as an industry it is just an outcome of the recent economic reform and open policy formulated in late 1970s, and its rapid growth is an indication of overall social and economic development of the country.
In the past two decades or so, China’s tourism has undergone three main stages, namely, inbound tourism only, inbound and domestic tourism, and comprehensive tourism including domestic, inbound and outbound tourism sectors. The industry, taken as one of the growth points of the national economy, is playing an increasingly important role in the country’s development.
The rapid growth of outbound tourism indicates the further opening of the country, and its tourism development has begun to follow the normal track, and the industry has become more mature. However, outbound tourism is still in its infancy, and it has much room to develop.
China’s Outbound Tourism: size, growth and features Outbound leisure tourism made by the Chinese residents started from early 1980s, and has been growing very rapidly since late 1990s.
This phenomenon has drawn wide attention from home and abroad. In the mean while, business travels