International Travel Agencies Gain More Profits

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 ◆ International Travel Agencies Gain More Profits

China's international travel agencies are making more profits as there are more Chinese people going abroad and more overseas tourists coming to China, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said Tuesday. CNTA statistics show that at the end of 2000, China had 7,725 domestic travel agencies and 1,268 international ones. But the latter generated about 98 percent of the country's total tourism revenue. A high official with the CNTA attributed the profitability of the international travel agencies to their small scale and good performance, saying that too many domestic travel agencies spoiled the domestic tour business. In 2000 alone, 1,600 more domestic travel agencies registered with the CNTA. A recent survey shows domestic tourism had the biggest scale but the lowest profit rate; the profit from hosting overseas tourists ranked second; and the services for those who tour abroad was the most profitable. This encourages not only Chinese travel agencies but also foreign travel agencies receiving Chinese tourists. "There is great potential in the Chinese market when an increasing number of Chinese people want to see other countries," said Richard Liu, head of Canada Tourism Administration's China representative office.