Published by: World Tibet Network News, Thursday, May 2, 1996

BEIJING, May 2 (Reuter) - Chinese tourism officials said on Thursday development of the industry was rapidly outstripping economic growth as travellers stream in to see the Great Wall, go skiing and clear garbage from the slopes of Mount Everest.

"China is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of tourism resources," Sun Gang, vice-chairman of the National Tourism Administration, told Reuters in an interview.

He said growth of the tourism industry was racing ahead of gross domestic product (GDP) and was expected to outpace it by a large margin until at least the turn of the century.

"I think the speed of tourism development is certain to overtake that of the national economy," he said.

While GDP was forecast to grow at a healthy 8.0 percent a year through to 2000, Sun said he expected the tourism industry to clock growth of 11 to 13 percent a year over the same period.

Earnings from tourism, both domestic and international, were expected to account for 5.0 percent of GDP, or 350 billion yuan ($41 billion) a year by the end of the century and to soar to 1.34 trillion ($161 billion) a year -- or 8.0 percent of GDP -- by 2010, Sun said.

A combination of higher living standards along with the development of more hotels and opening of new tourist destinations and varieties of packages on offer to international travellers could help to ensure that goal, he said.

China recorded 46.39 million tourist visits in 1995 -- although the vast majority were by overseas Chinese from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau visiting relatives -- generating revenues of $8.73 billion.

Foreign tourists made 5.89 million trips to China last year, up 13.6 percent from 1994 while trips by domestic tourists numbered an extraordinary 629 million -- or about half the population -- in 1995, Sun said.

Enormous potential lay with increasingly rich local Chinese who since last May 1 have enjoyed a two-day weekend which led to soaring trips and tourism receipts, Sun said.

In 1995, total tourism earnings were 209.8 billion yuan ($25.2 billion), accounting for 3.64 percent of GDP.

The most popular destinations for foreign visitors were the Great Wall of China, the terracotta army in Xi'an and the scenic Three Gorges on the Yangtze River, while more and more domestic tourists flocked to the seaside, Sun said.

Among new attractions being promoted are skiing tours, adventure travel to the Himalayan region of Tibet. An unusual package is offered by the Yunnan Exploration and Recreation Travel Bureau to the north base camp of Mount Everest to clear garbage from the slopes of the world's highest mountain, Sun said.

Parents in Japan and South Korea were sending children on study tours to China and foreign backpackers were welcome, Sun said.

Tourism patterns in China have seen a shift, with tour groups -- which accounted for 70 percent for all tourists a few years ago -- dropping to just 30 percent last year.

Low-budget travellers and businessmen now account for the vast majority, said Yang Liuyin, director of the administration's department of marketing and promotion.

By 2000, China hopes to attract up to 54.7 million overseas tourists, most of them overseas Chinese, and earn $13-14 billion a year.