China's outbound tourism could maintain 'explosive growth' in next decade

Chinese tourists sit at the esplanade of the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Oct 6, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]?

BEIJING - Chinese outbound tourism has witnessed "explosive growth" in the past 10 years, and the trend is likely to be maintained in the next decade, Ctrip CEO Sun Jie said Monday.

Chinese mainland travelers made more than 120 million outbound trips in 2015, 313 percent more than 2005, according to a report released earlier by Ctrip, China's leading online travel agency, and the think tank Center for China and Globalization.

In the first half of 2017, 62 million overseas trips were made by Chinese tourists, the China National Tourism Administration said in a statement last month.

"About 15 million outbound tourists chose Ctrip annually. Their trips abroad have created, directly and indirectly, up to 100 million jobs worldwide," according to Sun.

Sun said China's tourism cooperation with BRICS countries will become closer and tourists can enjoy benefits in everything from visas to flights in the future.

Figures released by the World Economic Forum in 2017 showed that tourism last year stimulated the economy by generating more than $7.6 trillion globally, supporting over 292 million jobs, or one in 10 jobs worldwide.