(World Travel Online Report from London)The ever biggest Chinese Delegation of 98 delegates headed Mr. Gu Zhaoxi, the CNTA(China National Tourism Association) Vice Chairman, comes to 2006 WTM in London.

During the 2006 WTM (Nov 6-Nov 9), the China Pavilion attracts many visitors due to its theme of "2008 Olympic Games". The Chinese Government is wholly focused on capitalising on the 2008 Olympic Games – this 'coming out'  party – to present a new, modern nation to a global audience, in large measure through hosting hundreds of thousands of Games visitors. It is absolutely a good.

The Mr. Gu Zhaoxi also gave a speech at the Seminar on Tourism and Sport organised by UNWTO (The United Nations World Travel Organisation) on Nov 7, which is during the time of 2006 WTM.  

 "China is a country where ancient civilization meets with modern achievements in a perfect manner. It is blessed with rich tourism resources with beautiful natural sceneries and profound cultural background. In 2005, China' s inbound overnight tourist arrivals reached 46.81 million, ranking the 4th in the world; the tourism receipts in foreign exchanges reached 29.3 billion US Dollars, ranking the 6th in the world; the trips of China' s domestic travel numbered 1.2 billion, the receipts generated from the domestic market were 66.6 billion US Dollars; and the total tourism receipts were 100 billion US Dollars."

 "The United Nations World Tourism Organization made the prediction that by 2020 the trips of outbound travel in China will reach 100 million, making China the 4th biggest tourist generating country in the world. China' s outbound travel to the United Kingdom has been on steady increase for the past years. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 the first-stop outbound trips by Chinese to the United Kingdom numbered 134 thousand, 178 thousand and 184 thousand respectively."

 "Looking into the future, we are confident that China tourism has a good prospect for further development. By 2010, China' s inbound overnight tourist arrivals will reach 68.8 million; the trips of China’s domestic travel will reach 1.78 billion; and the total tourism receipts will reach 153.7 billion US Dollars."

 "As you all know, the 29th Olympic Games will take place in Beijing in 2008 and the eyes of the world will be on us by then, therefore we are making great efforts to ensure that the Beijing Olympic Games will be a "High level Olympic Games with distinguishing features".
 
Mr. Shi Xiang, the director of CNTO London (China National Tourism Office), shows great confidence on the promotion result of China inbound tourism which is generated by the promotion and marketing activities during the WTM. There are more and more delegates from China join the 2006 WTM, which is considered as a very good platform to exhibit China to the world and also a good trade platform to promote China' s inbound program for the tour operators between China and other countries. He also wishes that there will be more Chinese delegates will come for the 2007 WTM.