Business Tourism and Events in China

BUSINESS TOURISM AND EVENTS
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Abstract
The tourism sector is one of the biggest contributors to China’s domestic economy since the market reforms of the early 1980s. Since then, the country has recorded marked increases in its tourism revenues until late 2019 when COVID-19 struck. China’s tourism sector is yet to reach 2019 levels although the resumption of economic activity globally is expected to boost both tourist numbers and revenues generated. This brief will discuss the tourism sector in China by first providing an overview of market size and brief historical overview. It will then analyze the current state of China’s tourism sector. Afterwards, the brief will analyze the major tourism industry trends in the country including a discussion of the impact of COVID-19 on the same. This section will be followed by a stakeholder analysis of the tourism sector in China as well as a discussion of the economic impact of the sector on the country’s economy. Moreover, the brief will also provide recommendations for future development and investment opportunities within the tourism sector. This section will finally be followed by a short summary of the major points in the brief.
Table of Contents
Definitions of The Sector, Overview of Market Size, Brief Historical Overview…..…..….…..4
Analysis of The Current State of The Chosen Sector…………………….…….……………….5
Analysis of Industry Trends……………………………………………………………………..6
Stakeholder Analysis…………………………………………………………………………….8
Economic Impact of The Tourism Sector to China………………………...……………………9
Recommendations; Future Development and……..……………………………………………...9
Conclusions……………………………………………………………,………………………..10
References…………………………………………………………………………………….....11
Business Tourism and Events
Definitions of The Sector, Overview of Market Size, Brief Historical Overview
Incentive travel refers to trips intended to motivate, engage, and recompense business associates or staff. This essay will discuss Chinese tourism sector in the context of incentive travel. The tourism sector is one of the biggest contributors to China’s domestic economy since the early 1980s when the country opened its economy. Since the market reformation, the country has vigorously promoted its inbound and outbound tourism segments as a means of earning foreign exchange. The country’s tourism sector has recorded marked growth year-over-year owing to the country’s numerous tourist attraction sites and the expansion of support infrastructure including transport, accommodation, and entertainment. The country is one of the most visited country globally: the country is home to 55 World Heritage Sites and abundant natural, historical, and cultural sites (Ren, 2022). China’s rugged terrain and long history has left a great number and variety of tourist attractions across the country such as the Great Wall of China, the Yangtze River, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Terracotta Army, the Silk Road, West Lake, the Yellow Mountains, the Li River, and the Potala Palace among others.
The history of China’s tourism sector can be traced back to 1923 when the first travel agent was opened. However, the sector developed significantly in 1949 when the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was established. Initially, tourism was limited to diplomatic work but the industry recorded its first marked growth after 1978 when the country’s borders opened to foreign visitors. The tourism sector became a primary source of foreign exchange towards the end of the 20th century when the growing middle class started developing a travelling culture (Dai et al., 2017). Moreover, the expansion of local and international airline traffic as well as support industries made foreign travel more convenient. The country has seen its tourist numbers grow rapidly over the last two decades, particularly the period between 2008 and 2019, when China emerged as one of the leading tourist destinations in the world.
Analysis of The Current State of The Chosen Sector
China’s tourism sector is largely supported by the growing population of affluent middle-class citizens. There were 4.471 billion urban tourists and 1.535 billion rural tourists in 2019, an increase of 8.5% and 8.1% respectively when compared to the previous year. The country’s burgeoning economy has transformed the tourism sector into one of the globe’s most-observed inbound and outbound markets. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China recorded 6 billion domestic trips and generated around 6.6 trillion yuan in 2019, an exponential increase compared to the number of trips or revenue generated a decade earlier. For instance, the per capita consumption of domestic tourism in China grew from $160.59 in 2008 to $225.11 in 2019 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2023). The country is also the leading tourism source market globally: for instance, in 2016, the expenditure by local tourists grew by 12% to $261 billion (Zhang, 2022). The domestic tourism market in China has also increased rapidly. For instance, the domestic tourists in 2019 was 6.01 billion, a growth rate of 8.4% compared to the previous year (Interesse, 2022).
Analysis of Industry Trends
Technology has had a significant impact on the tourism industry in China with new technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence enabling virtual tours. The pandemic sped up the digitization of the country’s tourism sector and an increasing number of China’s tourist attraction sites like zoos, theme parks, and galleries using virtual technology to attract visitors. For instance, the Forbidden City is Beijing regularly holds a digital exhibition in a bid to give tourists an immersive experience of the historical relics. Similarly, the Palace Museum has opened a digital gallery where visitors can view images of artefacts too ancient and delicate to be put on public display (Nyíri, 2022). Moreover, some scenic areas like Changsha in Hunan have intelligent robot tour guides, which can give brief introductions of the spot, amuse visitors, and even answer questions from tourists. On the other hand, growing calls among activists for heightened awareness of the environmental impact of tourist activities has led to the rise of ecotourism.
Sustainable travelling is becoming a norm in China with a large number of middle-class tourists favoring eco-friendly destinations. According to China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, ecotourist activities like hiking, camping, and bird-watching are becoming increasingly popular among local and international tourists. For instance, Zhejiang province in east China increased its ecotourism sites to 21 so as to meet the rising demand for diversified ecotourism products. The government has constructed tourism roads to facilitate tourist-related travelling to wetland parks, nature reserves, cultural facilities, scenic spots, rural villages, and forest parks (Bao, Chen and Jin, 2018). By opening up the rural provinces where most ecotourism sites are located, the government has managed to speed up development of the country’s green tourism industry. Despite the nation’s carbon footprint challenge, the government has improved forest coverage reach to exceed 23%, which is about a quarter of the globe’s total vegetation growth.
Tourism is a central facet in Chinese society with various tourism associations tasked with tourism market development. For instance, the China Tourism Academy (CTA) is a combination of different academic and administrative tourism divisions. There are over 12 independently operating subsidiaries associated with the academic divis...