China has the world's largest number of outbound tourists at 135 million and this figure is estimated to go up to 157 million in 2020, authorities said here.
A total of 135 million Chinese made outbound trips in 2016 as compared to 5 million in 1995, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
This represented an average annual increase of 17.6 per cent over 21 years.
China's outbound tourism market was estimated to increase by 5 per cent annually on average in the coming years, bringing the number of outbound tourists to 157 million in 2020, Xinhua news agency reported, citing China Tourism Academy -- a think tank under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Often called "walking wallets", because of their increased spending capacity, Chinese tourists fly to other countries for holiday, shopping and cosmetic surgery.
Many Chinese can be spotted at duty-free shops in Seoul and Tokyo buying cosmetic creams, face masks, clothes among others.
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According to Chinese International Travel Monitor 2016, the per capita spending of Chinese outbound travellers hit ($3,370) in 2015.
Indian wants to tap into the Chinese outbound tourists, but has not been able to do so.
In August, India's Tourism Minister K.J. Alphons was in China for a roadshow to attract more Chinese tourists. He said that of the 144 million outbound Chinese tourists in 2017, only 300,000 came to India.
He said that India plans to get at least 14 million Chinese tourists in the next three years.
--IANS
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