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UNWTO report: China leads global outbound tourism
39 pct of CNMI arrivals are from China
China has led the 2015 global outbound tourism, a report released by the United Nations World Tourism Organization said.
According to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer released last month, international tourist arrivals grew by 4.4 percent in 2015 to reach a total of 1.184 million.
China, along with few other leading source markets such as the U.S. and he United Kingdom, led the outbound travel growth and has driven tourism expenditure last year supported by a strong currency and economy.
“Among the world’s top source markets, China, with double-digit growth in expenditure every year since 2004, continues to lead global outbound travel, benefitting Asian destinations such as Japan and Thailand, as well as the United States and various European destinations,” the report said.
Citing statistics from China National Administration Tourism, China Daily reported that a total of 120 million Chinese people traveled overseas in 2015, making it the third year in a row that China topped the list of international outbound travelers
39 percent
The CNMI has also benefited from the growth of Chinese tourism.
For calendar year 2015, the Marianas Visitors Authority noted that visitor arrivals to the islands rose 4 percent compared to the previous year.
According to their latest data, out of the 478,592 arrivals recorded for 2015, about 39 percent or 186,509 are Chinese travelers.
“Due to our proximity to China and the CNMI-only DHS (Department of Homeland Security) parole authority, the Northern Marianas Islands is in a prime position to capitalize on the outbound China market, as we started doing when the Marianas Visitors Authority first began market diversification nearly 10 years ago,” MVA managing director Perry Tenorio told Saipan Tribune.
“In addition to our proximity, our clean, tropical environmental, and our status as a part of the United States are both attractive features to visitors from China,” he added.
Tenorio said the Commonwealth welcomes visitors from China but will work on market diversification as well.
“We warmly welcome visitors from China, while continuing to work to ensure market diversification and sustainable development for our islands,” Tenorio said.
2016 projection
The UNWTO noted that 2015 marks the 6th consecutive year of above-average growth, with international arrivals increasing by 4 percent or more every year since the post-crisis year of 2010.
The organization projects international tourist arrivals to grow by around the same percentage worldwide in 2016.
Countries are then reminded to promote policies that foster the continued growth of tourism.
“International tourism reached new heights in 2015. The robust performance of the sector is contributing to economic growth and job creation in many parts of the world. It is thus critical for countries to promote policies that foster the continued growth of tourism, including travel facilitation, human resources development and sustainability,” UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai said.
