China will channel 150 million tourists to countries along the "Belt and Road" with an estimated spending of more than 200 billion U.S. dollars in the coming five years, chairman of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) Li Jinzao said on Friday.
"We also believe China will attract 85 million tourists from relevant countries and drive domestic consumption of 11 billion U.S. dollars," Li said at the opening ceremony of a ministerial meeting on Silk Road tourism on Friday in Xi'an, the easternmost point of the ancient land route.
According to Li, China has over 200 projects concerning "Belt and Road" tourism to be launched in the next three years.
Over 40 ministers from Europe, Asia and the Middle East as well as senior government officials, experts in the fields of tourism, heritage management and marketing are attending the meeting.
Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), said China's commitment to the "Belt and Road" initiative, including heritage preservation, connectivity and visas, will be of great importance.
Silk Road travel has become trendy recently, with hundreds of thousands of online posts on the topic every day.
The "Belt and Road" refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. The initiative brings together countries in Asia, Europe and even Africa via overland and maritime networks.
