China says global financial crisis not to reduce tourism in upcoming festival

Fewer inbound tourists due to the world economic slowdown will not dent China's traditional tourist peak during the upcoming Spring Festival, an official said here Monday.

Inbound tourism has shrunk by more than 30 percent as a result of the global financial crisis, said Wang Zhifa, deputy director of the China National Tourism Administration.

That won't affect the whole tourist market during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday, which will last a week from Jan.25, as inbound tourists account only a tiny share of the cake, said Liu.

The number of tourists during the holiday period will continue to grow steadily, because tourism has become a holiday lifestyle for Chinese, he said.  

Outbound Chinese travelers are expected to favor short- and mid-distance destinations such as Hong Kong, Macao and southeast Asian nations.  

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