Untitled

4.52 million departures with a 21 per cent growth
rate. China's total income from international and
domestic tourism was 209.8 billion yuan accounting
for 3.64 per cent of gross domestic product.
In 1995, the Chinese government invested 1,027
billion yuan including $44.5 million bank loans for
capital construction in 120 tourism projects. There
were 47 joint-venture projects in hotel establishments
with a total investment of $1.336
billion.There are 8,896 tourism enterprises in
China out of which 3,826 are travel agencies and
3,720 are hotels with a capacity of 490,000 rooms.
Among the hotels, 38 are classified as five-star and
106 as four-star. The capital assets of all tourism
enterprises are 125.2 billion yuan by their original
value with direct outputs of 209.8 billion yuan.
The tourism industry in China employs a direct
workforce of 1.12 million people while indirect
employment is 5 million. The country has a total of
138 tourism institutions of higher learning including
those universities that have exclusive tourism
departments. Further, 484 secondary technical
schools have been established. Total enrolment of
tourism students is 139,260 at time of writing.
China National Tourism Administration
�CNTA) is the administrative body. It has various
departments such as Department of Planning and
Statistics, Department of Marketing and Promotion,
Department of Tourism Enterprise Administration,
Department of International Liaison,
Department of Personnel and Education and
Department of Finance. There are thirty-one
tourism bureaus at provincial level under which
operational divisions correspond to those of
CNTA. There are also municipal tourism bureaus
functioning as administrative bodies at local level.
In 1996, CNTA formulated China's Ninth Five-
Year Tourism Development Plan and the Long-
Term Outline Objectives to the Year 2010. The
salient policy feature of the Ninth Five-Year Plan
�1996±2000) is a `government-led strategy' including:
increased investment to tourism by central and
local governments; joint efforts of state, local,
collective and private bodies in tourism development;
increasing foreign investment in tourism;
further open-up of civil aviation, railway and land
transportation; strengthening of tourism infrastructure;
expanding tourism marketing overseas; parallel
development of domestic and international
tourism; development of tourism education and
application of new technology; tourism awareness
education of nationals through press, television,
radio and schools; and implementation of state
policies for environmental protection and strategy
for sustainable development.
With a view to ensuring the quality of tourism
services and protecting the interest of consumers,
the CNTA introduced in 1994 the Deposit System
of Quality Guarantee to travel agencies. In 1996,
the Regulation on Travel Agency was promulgated.
The China Tourism Law is now in the process of
formulation. It was projected in the Ninth Five-
Year Plan that by year 2000, China would receive
55 million overseas visitors with an income of $14
billion from international tourism. Domestic tourists
will reach 1 billion with an income of 360
billion yuan. This will represent 5 per cent of
China's GDP.
It is expected that between 2001 and 2010,
China will maintain an annual growth rate of 8 per
cent for international arrivals with its earnings at
15 per cent growth. Tourism will account for 8 per
cent in the gross domestic product. By then,
tourism will become a major pillar industry of the
national economy of China.
Further reading
China National Tourism Administration �1996) The
Year Book of China Tourism Statistics, 1996.
ÐÐ The China Ninth Five-Year Tourism Development
Plan and the Long-term Outline Objectives to the Year
2010.
choice set
choice set 79
ZHANG LIANSHENG, SPAIN
Potential tourists have a vast range of destinations,
tour packages �see package tours) and other
travel attributes from which to choose. The range
of possible alternatives is the choice set. Tourists
are likely to spontaneously recognise or seriously
consider only a small proportion of all possibilities.
This is the evoked set. The term is used in
psychological research on decision making. In