China's online tourism revenue will triple from the current level to account for 30 percent of the country's total tourism market in three to five years on rising demand for casual tourism, industry officials said yesterday.
"Online tourism business boosts consumption and economic development," Donald Yu, chief executive of online tourism website Tuniu, said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen.
"It's a golden era for Chinese online tourism industry," Yu added.
The demand for tourism will grow rapidly for two decades or more when a country's per capita gross domestic product surpassed $3,000 based on global industry development history. In 2008, China's per capita GDP reached $3,000, which marked the start of a rapid growth in Chinese online tourism market, according to analysts.
China's online tourism market revenue is forecast to reach 1 trillion yuan (US$154 billion) in three to five years, accounting for 30 percent of the total tourism market, triple the current 10 percent, according to Yu.
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