Tourism in China is a growing industry that is becoming a significant part of the Chinese economy. The rate of tourism has expanded over the last few decades since the beginning of reform and opening up. The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are both fueling this travel boom. China has become one of world's largest outbound tourist markets. According to Euromonitor International, economic growth and higher incomes in nearby Asian countries will help China to become the world's number one tourist destination by 2030.
China ranked second in the world for travel and tourism's contribution to GDP in 2022 ($814.1 billion), and first in the world for travel and tourism's contribution to employment (66,086,000 jobs in 2014). Tourism, based on direct, indirect, and induced impact, accounted for 9.3 percent of China's GDP in 2013. In 2017, the total contributions of China's travel and tourism sector made up 11% of its GDP. In 2018, the domestic tourism sector contributed around US$1.47 trillion to the nation's GDP.
Since 2012, tourists from China have been the world's top spender in international tourism, leading global outbound travel. In 2016, the country accounted for 21% of the world's international tourism spending, or $261 billion. (The statistics include journeys made to the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, as well as Taiwan; in 2017, these accounted for 69.5m of the so-called "overseas" journeys.) As of 2018, only 7% of Chinese had a passport, so the "potential for further growth is staggering", according to a UK news report.
A 2026 report from Chinese state media noted a significant rise in inbound tourism, with ticket bookings during the New Year holiday increasing by 110% year-on-year and reservations for experiential leisure activities growing more and thirtyfold, reflecting increasing international interest in cultural and immersive travel experiences in China.
History
Until the late imperial period, tourism for the primary purpose of leisure or sightseeing was generally limited to pilgrimages and the literati.
Tourism began emerging as part of bourgeois lifestyle and was a nascent industry during China's nationalist era. The first Chinese-operated travel agency in China was founded by banker Chen Guangfu in 1923. European, American, and Japanese travel agencies had operated in China since the early 1900s, but only served the citizens of those countries.
After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, tourism was not a contributing sector of the company's economy due to the PRC's political system and the political and economic blocks imposed on China by Western countries. China's tourism bureau was a government agency which handled tourism matters viewed as important to China's foreign relations. The state-owned tourism company China International Travel Service (CITS) was established in 1954. "International" in this context referred to diplomacy. CITS handled inbound tourism work for self-funded tourists and state-invited guests. The PRC's earliest tourists came from the Soviet Union and other socialist countries.
In 1956, the State Council established Overseas Chinese Service Agency, which was renamed Overseas Chinese Travel Service the next year. It focused on facilitating the travel of overseas Chinese and Hong Kong and Macao people visiting relatives and joining sightseeing tours.
In 1958, the Secretary-General of the State Council was placed in charge of CITS and its branches were transferred to local governments.
Organized around diplomatic and political purposes, tourism in China provided tours such as the production study tour (shengchan guanmo tuan) or the industry and commerce study tour (gongshang kaocha tuan). Premier Zhou Enlai stated that the purpose of tourism was "to xuanchuan ourselves, understand others, wield influence, and gain sympathy". Through CITS and the Overseas Chinese Travel Service, China provided travel service to overseas Chinese visiting China and foreign tourists who might spread a positive image of China to their home countries.
In addition to its significance in diplomacy and promoting socialist ideology abroad, tourism was significant during the Mao Zedong era as a way for China to earn foreign currency. Tourism was an important mechanism for encouraging remittances from overseas Chinese in the 1950s and into the 1960s.
In 1964, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress approved the creation of the China Travel and Tourism Enterprise Administration (CTEA), which later became the China National Tourism Administration.
In 1964, the Japanese government began allowing its citizens to visit the PRC. The next year, Japan became the single largest source of inbound tourists to the PRC.
In the early phases of the Cultural Revolution, international tourism came to a halt. In this period, Red Guards denounced China Travel Service and CITS for their foreign connections. The issue of tourism became less contentious again in 1970.
In the period leading to the PRC's 1971 admission into the United Nations, Mao authorized state tourism authorities to increase the number of foreign tourists permitted into China, and to allow the entry not just of political leftists and others deemed "foreign friends," but self-financed rightists travels as well. At the 1971 National Tourism Work Conference, tourism was deemed an important part of China's foreign affairs work. Between 1971 and 1978, the number of foreigners admitted through CTEA increased by a factor of 20, and its earnings of foreign currency increased by a factor of nearly 120.
After the Cultural Revolution, tourism was increasingly linked to the Four Modernizations. In 1977, the National Tourism Planning forum stated that the mission of tourism was to earn foreign currency to fund the Four Modernizations. Beginning in 1978 and 1979, Deng Xiaoping promoted the development of tourism for purposes of economic development. As tourism became an important means of obtaining foreign currency for the government, China emphasized its exotic qualities to international tourists. By 1980, China's tourism business had grown further.
The expansion of domestic and international airline traffic and other tourist transportation facilities made travel more convenient. Over 250 cities and countries had been opened to foreign visitors by the mid-1980s. Travellers needed only valid visas or residence permits to visit 100 locations; the remaining locales required travel permits from public security departments. In 1985 approximately 1.4 million foreigners visited China, and nearly US$1.3 billion was earned from tourism.
In the 1990s, a trend towards heritage tourism resulted in an increase of tourist visits to small towns across the country.
In 2015, China was the fourth most visited country in the world, after France, United States, and Spain, with 56.9 million international tourists per year. In 2017, tourism contributed about CNY 8.77 trillion (US$1.45 trillion), 11.04% of the GDP, and contributed direct and indirect employment of up to 28.25 million people. There were 139.48 million inbound trips and five billion domestic trips.
In 2018, the Chinese hotel industry had a pipeline of 2,500 new hotel projects.
In 2018, China formed the Ministry of Culture and Tourism by merging the prior Ministry of Culture and the China National Tourism Administration.
Statistics
+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions
China has become a major tourist destination following its reform and opening up to the world in the late 1970s instigated by Deng Xiaoping. In 1978, China received about 230,000 international foreign tourists, mostly because of the severe limitations that the government placed on who was allowed to visit the country and who was not.Lew, Alan A. 1987. The History, Policies and Social Impact of International Tourism in the People's Republic of China. Asian Profile 15(2)April:117 28.
Data from 2016 showed that the majority of foreign visitors hailed from Asian countries, with South Korea being the top source country for China inbound tourism. Among the number of tourist arrivals, 81.06 million are from Hong Kong, 23.5 million from Macau and 5.73 million coming from Taiwan. The number of foreigners visiting China in the same year was 28.15 million.
In the same year, overnight visitors increased 4.2% over the same period of 2015 to 59.27 million (of which over 60% came from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan).
Visitor statistics Most visitors arriving in mainland China were from the following areas of residence or countries of nationality: Origin201920182017201620152014201380,500,73679,368,42479,795,89081,059,39179,448,10076,131,70076,884,00026,789,34825,150,83424,649,97123,503,21522,888,20020,639,90020,740,33312,421,75312,379,8459,655,4532,428,074144,373132,787134,6717,948,6647,587,9326,544,1983,167,2732,160,7561,709,4371,365,4026,134,2366,136,0815,871,2685,729,9555,498,6005,365,9005,162,5094,346,5674,191,7903,854,8694,762,1634,444,3894,181,7003,968,9982,722,5712,414,3012,344,6461,975,9101,582,2792,045,8002,186,2812,676,3342,689,6622,680,0332,587,4402,497,6572,717,6002,877,5332,406,6572,483,5542,309,2822,247,7522,085,8002,093,2002,085,2531,862,2781,915,8321,864,0121,342,3081,014,1021,082,7001,049,9971,383,5021,290,7441,232,4991,163,8691,075,4511,129,6001,206,5351,177,6681,202,9661,160,8751,134,7491,004,008967,900996,6721,008,545978,028940,223921,887905,269971,400966,605870,526832,605775,747749,020641,483613,100651,654869,570708,517818,954799,134730,490709,900676,682776,328849,941805,026740,788679,800667,100684,216734,511751,865733,663673,248637,300672,100723,088724,784708,517680,841632,913544,762566,900605,321622,198643,074634,053622,668623,374662,600649,298612,213607,846590,714594,287579,637604,700624,955555,028250,654229,467209,521188,337184,400206,617490,963499,160493,712503,480486,935517,000533,538279,474277,776279,686266,793246,145253,100251,162278,469305,200230,92583,60326,13621,69719,399211,577195,081222,946225,406241,478343,600393,530192,338196,183193,960199,464181,789180,400188,562182,399180,725171,766160,439141,706118,082121,938177,779157,543132,51083,31749,95453,60058,817165,984167,988155,564149,626136,333141,000132,378149,553146,403143,471136,031125,400126,600128,572131,089130,944127,265119,057113,087108,900106,548127,631118,828105,18993,31685,48794,55995,754113,847101,62291,53185,01680,19669,77658,872109,322101,64561,60349,89442,45539,28534,578104,81796,910136,681128,036113,164113,68788,895103,600109,991111,758115,216118,362142,000159,95198,98795,33890,51183,94274,82376,13571,59894,31292,54682,13473,32668,30065,80060,14494,28997,48491,54082,94576,16578,52079,69985,60683,62174,94066,70365,45168,23068,61381,63585,55683,50982,85086,50983,92574,44377,74874,40975,45179,09299,538106,163103,94770,46873,93172,09672,55672,67579,50080,55768,91269,24868,22466,65065,18367,40068,40468,65370,27967,57365,93260,75864,80065,71167,24070,02370,23971,58870,87377,55681,38561,98363,04363,03960,32858,05950,00049,48857,21956,31456,25954,98553,38752,30049,39557,15957,96757,81257,89155,11060,28365,66246,24745,63048,74047,78943,58941,02037,95045,15841,02546,35852,63255,39863,04457,71744,83544,94942,19838,58036,69435,71934,46044,35144,00241,95342,35341,60042,04641,22942,47640,16540,06237,81035,95537,29934,63641,96145,36746,24752,44454,14954,45845,58241,84038,26934,28944,27843,73350,40049,93641,00235,38427,55919,15514,03812,56011,44138,39933,36734,57132,68424,72023,12320,64036,15838,74339,06538,24441,11347,90051,43933,88324,74519,15417,25513,90415,57514,34733,87532,00734,55337,37735,30036,14836,53130,59834,22935,13232,42228,40724,42726,48829,33326,96126,53125,73526,56827,33129,56527,98328,30929,61530,88526,54027,66828,15127,16926,14122,46520,93024,96133,61031,916Total65,730,00062,900,00060,740,00059,270,00056,890,00055,620,00055,690,000
Foreign and Hong Kong/Macau arrivals in Beijing