In a meeting with the chairman of the general council for Japan’s ruling LDP Toshihiro Nikai during his Beijing visit, the director of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Jinzao Li said China was heartened by Japan adopting attractive investment strategies and the opening up of investment channels, with information of potential investment projects in Japan’s hotels, attractions and travel agencies, as bilateral tourism between the countries topped 5 million visitors/trips last year.
Mr. Li said the tourism industry was drawing great investment interest from Chinese investors and presented significant potential. Direct investment in China’s tourism was estimated to exceed RMB3 trillion in the next three years and China welcomed the participation of Japanese companies in the Chinese market.
Recently investors’ interest in China’s tourism industry among financial institutions and securities firms has been at an all-time high. CNTA in conjunction with nine major banks has finalized a list of 2015 National Tourism Outstanding Projects. The 500 selected projects will receive investments of up to RMB1.4 trillion and loans of RMB500 billion, and they are expected to generate RMB7 trillion in related investments.
Mr. Nikai in turn pledged Japan’s cooperation and expressed his desire for Chinese companies to invest in Japan’s tourism industry.
He emphasized that tourism was an important part of bilateral relations, and that the visiting delegation comprising representatives from both upper and lower house of the Diet, central and regional government, Japan friendship organizations and ordinary travelers, would take the opportunity to experience China’s scenic beauty and observe the development of China’s tourism industry. They would tell Japanese about their experience to spur interest among the Japanese public to visit China.
Mr. Nikai led a 3,000-strong delegation on a visit to Beijing from May 22-24 covering famous attractions such as the National Museum of China and the Forbidden City in the itinerary.
(Translation by David)
