Sun Gang, deputy head of the China National Tourism Administration, made these remarks yesterday on the sidelines of the three-day Boao Forum for Asian-tourism Conference, which began yesterday.

In the first half of this year, the number of tourists in China increased by 10.8 per cent from the same period last year and foreign tourists rose 21 per cent, according to Sun.

"It may be thanks to more friendly tourism environments, better tourism facilities, as well as China's closer co-operation with foreign countries in the tourism sector," Sun said.

Sun said he was pleased that Guilin, one of the most beautiful tourism destinations in China, is the first city to host the Boao Forum for Asian-tourism Conference.

The conference is expected to become a new venue for regional co-operation in tourism where scholars, business people and policy makers can share their experiences openly and freely.

China has the largest tourism industry in Asia and hosted nearly 7 million foreign tourists last year where 62 per cent of them came from Asian countries.

Meanwhile, 83.2 per cent of Chinese travellers going abroad chose Asian countries as their travel destinations.

"That's why regional co-operation is so important and why when Chinese tourism thrives, the whole region and the world will undoubtedly benefit," he said.

Sun particularly stressed the sustainable development of tourism and said it is the only hope for the Chinese tourist industry, where numerous new tourism packages, tour lines, and scenic places await exploration.

"All this should be done with a very clear and firm idea of sustainable development. We should care for not only our generation but also our descendants," Sun said.

Since the 1990s, travel and tourism has become an important part of China's economy, Sun said.

(China Daily November 19, 2002)