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Group tour travelers set their sights on the US

By Li Xiang in Beijing and Maggie Lee in the US (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-06-17 07:29

Gathering momentum

With a new affluent middle class emerging, China has become a rapidly growing tourist source country since its opening up in the late 1970s. The sheer number of potential travelers and the strong purchasing power held up by the stronger yuan have made Chinese tourists a highly desired market.

Figures from the Chinese National Tourism Administration showed that 40.9 million Chinese citizens traveled abroad last year, an increase of 19 percent from 2006. The UN World Tourism Organization forecast the number to hit 100 million in 2020, making China the world's fourth-largest source of outbound tourists.

Lisa Simon, president of the National Tour Association (NTA), said she expects the China traffic to pick up quickly.

The NTA administers the list of bona fide US tourism companies that Chinese companies use for finding partners in the US.

While there are still fears that a lengthy and tiresome visa application process will remain a nuisance for most Chinese tourists to the US, new arrangements have been made to make the process more convenient, the US Embassy in China has said.

"A new special appointment channel is now available for authorized travel agencies to book group tourist interview appointments in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou," said US embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson.

"Tour leaders can also now enter the visa hall with tour groups from their agency for the visa interview," she said.

While the US embassy and consulates have made group tour appointments a priority, individual interviews and fingerprints are still required.

A few restrictions remain in place under the latest agreement.

Only residents of nine Chinese municipalities and provinces may apply for US travel: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Hubei, Hunan, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong. Other provinces are expected to join by the end of the year.

The US retains the right to terminate the agreement if large numbers of tourists begin to overstay their visas.

The US Department of State may also create a facilitated visa procedure for the unprecedented numbers of Chinese group tourists being expected.

Meanwhile, Meng said he is already thinking of adding new places to his travel list after his US trip.

"Taiwan will probably be on top of it," he said.

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