Slowly rebounding from a plunge in tourist numbers in the wake of the global economic crisis and the H1N1 flu, the tourism industries of China and the United States are hoping that collaboration will bring many happy returns.

Through joint efforts, the two countries can embark on a "win-win" journey because they are major sources of tourists to each other, Shao Qiwei, head of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), said in an interview with China Daily.

The United States is China's fourth largest tourist source market, and the biggest among distant countries.

China is forecast to be the world's fourth-largest source of outbound tourists by 2020, with 100 million Chinese tourists traveling abroad, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Since Chinese tour groups were allowed to travel in the US in June last year - thanks to an easing of US visa policy - the number of mainland tourists to the US has grown quickly.

According to the statistics released by the US Department of Commerce, the number of tourists from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region soared by nearly 28 percent, year on year. In January, 70,987 mainland tourists visited the US, becoming the only international group to register growth that month.

But since last year, both countries' tourism industries have suffered from the financial recession and the H1N1 flu.

According to the CNTA, the number of foreign visitors to China dropped 6.8 percent, to 24 million last year compared to 2007. Among them, the number of US visitors to China has dropped by 6.04 percent to 1.79 million last year.

Growth did not resume until July. The number of American tourists to China grew by 10.3 percent over the same period last year, partly due to a low base because of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Struck by rampant fears about the flu, the US also saw fewer Chinese tourists since May, when many Chinese tourists abandoned US-bound tour plans. Those disadvantages make bilateral cooperation in tourism critical, Shao said.

"China has not changed its policy of encouraging Chinese citizens to travel abroad even during the global economic recession," he said.