Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency in Perth, Australia, that global business travel has returned to normal and the recovery speed is much faster than expected. It is expected that the business travel industry in China and other countries will continue to perform well.

Simpson told reporters during the global industry conference held by the organization that although online communication such as virtual meetings played a key role in achieving business communication during the COVID-19 pandemic and keeping people and businesses connected, face-to-face communication was better.

The World Travel and Tourism Council's "2024 Economic Impact Trend Report" predicts that the global business travel market will surpass the 2019 level in 2024, reaching a record high of 1.5trillion.Thereportshowsthatasthesecondlargestbusinesstravelmarketintheworld,businesstravelspendinginChinaisexpectedtoincreaseby13.1211 billion.

Simpson said that China's domestic tourism market is very strong, and more and more Chinese people are traveling abroad. The international travel expenditure of Chinese tourists accounts for about 15% of the global travel expenditure. Simpson particularly mentioned that Chinese tourists have distinctive characteristics, such as their love for nature and interest in the unknown, which are widely welcomed by the tourism industry in various countries.

According to statistics, in 2023, the contribution of tourism to global GDP will be about 9.9 trillion US dollars, almost reaching the pre-pandemic level.

The World Travel and Tourism Council is committed to enhancing people's understanding of tourism and travel. Headquartered in London, its members include executives from approximately 100 major tourism companies around the world.

Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen

Editor Ⅱ: Wu Dan

Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong