Vice-Premier Wang Yang addresses the China-US Tourism Year 2016 Closing Ceremony in Washington DC, the United States, Nov 20, 2016. China-US Tourism Year 2016 came to the end on Nov 20, with officials from both countries pledging to expand tourism cooperation and enhance friendship.[Photo/Xinhua]
WASHINGTON — China-US Tourism Year 2016 came to the end on Nov 20, with officials from both countries pledging to expand tourism cooperation and enhance friendship.
Vice-Premier Wang Yang said at the closing ceremony that the two sides have organized a series of cultural and people-to-people exchanges this year to boost tourism in the two countries and made the peoples of both countries enjoy the fun of tourism.
Thanks to the Tourism Year, the number of Chinese tourists traveling to the United States increased by 14.7 percent in the first three quarters of this year from a year earlier, while the number of American tourists traveling to China went up by 7.3 percent during the same period, he said.
“The two-way tourist flow between the United States and China is expected to top 5 million this year,” Wang said, adding that tourism cooperation “has injected strong impetus” to the two economies.
Citing US official statistics, Wang said that about 2.59 million Chinese traveled to the United States last year and spent $30.1 billion in total while in the country.
“The number of Chinese tourists going to the United States this year is expected to surpass 3 million, and they’ll create 45,000 direct jobs and 230,000 indirect jobs for the United Sates,” he noted.
Vice-Premier Wang Yang (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker during the China-US Tourism Year 2016 Closing Ceremony in Washington DC, the United States, Nov 20, 2016. China-US Tourism Year 2016 came to the end on Nov 20, with officials from both countries pledging to expand tourism cooperation and enhance friendship. [Photo/Xinhua]
As both China and the United States are countries with large tourism resources and markets, Wang said China stands ready to work with the United States to simplify visa policies and provide more convenient, comfortable and secure services for tourists.
The two sides will also lower the entry threshold for investment in the tourism industry, and encourage companies from both countries to expand investment cooperation, the vice-premier said.
