Diplomatic World_nummer 56.

Doge’s Palace of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Venice
© Diplomatic World
the EU is looking to increase investment towards the
tourism industry. As such, the EU is continuing to work
with Chinese authorities to eliminate the existing barriers
which hinder bilateral relations in this sector. And thirdly,
the EU hopes that the ongoing negotiations on EU-China
visa facilitation and air connectivity, will advance
smoothly.
From the Chinese side, during the opening ceremony,
Prime Minister Li Keqiang sent a message to the audience
underlining that the importance of fostering a solid
and strategic partnership in this sector is twofold. On
one hand, strengthening bilateral ties enhances cultural
exchanges while, on the other, it foster international
friendship between both blocs.
According to Mr Li, this initiative will “extend China-
EU tourism cooperation and personnel exchanges and to
promote dialogue, development and mutual benefits.”
In general, economic relations between the EU and
China are not always easy. Tourism, however, offers
a wide range of opportunities for both sides, and the
developments go to show that it is, indeed a profitable
sector. Specifically in the case of Chinese outbound
tourism, it is important to look back to the political
context surrounding this sector — only thirty-five years
ago.
In 1983 the Chinese government took the first step
towards liberalizing travel, allowing citizens to leave the
country under the strict condition that they visit relatives
abroad. This policy lasted for over a decade when, in
1997, travel restrictions were dropped for all citizens,
marking the official start of outbound travel from China.
This is where Chinese start discovering traveling for
leisure. Today, the country is the largest market source of
international tourists in the world.
This change has been exponential, shifting global
travel movements and strongly impacting the economic
landscape. According to the China Daily, 69.5 million
people travelled to China in 2017. On the flipside, in
2016, Chinese travellers accounted for 136.8 million of
international tourism abroad, spending over USD 200
billion. 48.8% of border crossings were within the Greater
China, while 51.2% of the total were outside. This switch
was particularly evident in 2016, the first year in which
more Chinese tourists travelled to destinations beyond
Greater China than to those within it.
95