Far horizons beckon as agencies eye Chinese

Download

Overseas tourism destinations are expecting more Chinese travelers and taking measures to attract them, according to participants at China's most influential travel industry event.

"The number of Chinese tourists coming to Indonesia increases every year but we still lag behind Malaysia and Singapore in this regard," said Iyung Masruroh, an official with Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy. "We received 686,000 tourists from China in 2017 and expect 820,000 for this year."

She was speaking at the China International Travel Mart, which concluded on Sunday in Kunming, capital of Yunnan province.

Organizers said the Kunming mart is Asia's largest travel fair and drew exhibitors from 102 countries and regions with more than 1,000 foreign buyers, mainly from South Korea, Russia, the United States and Europe.

"We know our connectivity with China is not as good as Thailand's or Singapore's but we are very optimistic because Chinese people are already aware of our tourist destinations," Masruroh said.

Masruroh said her task at the mart was to promote Jakarta, Bandung and other tourist destinations other than Bali, an island province in Indonesia that already has the largest number of Chinese travelers in the nation.

Itay Friedjung, director of the Israel Government Tourist Office in Beijing, said his office invited 11 companies, including tourist agencies, hotels and even diamond merchants in Israel, to take part in the mart.

"Israel is far from China, but with the globalization of the tourism industry and direct air links, Israel has become accessible to Chinese people," he said.

Questions:

1. How many Chinese tourists does the Indonesia Ministry of Tourism and Creative economy expect this year?

2. What event concluded Sunday?

3. Where was it held?

Answers:

1. 820,000.

2. The China International Travel Mart.

3. Kunming, Yunnan province.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.