China poised to be top tourism economy as foreigners skip US
America has long ranked as the world’s top vacation destination
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[NEW YORK] China is now on track to become the world’s top tourism economy in the next few years as a sharp drop in foreign visits sets the US back.
The Chinese travel and tourism economy grew 9.9 per cent last year, more than twice the global rate and much faster than the 0.9 per cent pace registered by the US, according to new data by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), a trade group, and lead research partner Chase Travel.
That’s in large part due to a more than 10 per cent pickup in spending by foreign tourists to China in 2025, a sharp contrast to the nearly 5 per cent drop in outlays by visitors to the US.
If both countries continue to grow at similar rates, China could become the world’s largest tourism economy by the end of the decade, said WTTC president and CEO Gloria Guevara.
“While the US is shrinking, China is rising at a fast rate,” Guevara said. “If this continues, in three to four years it will close in on the US.”
The US, which has long ranked as the world’s top vacation destination with tourists flocking to places such as Disney World and Times Square, has seen a sharp pullback in foreign arrivals amid tighter immigration restrictions and rising geopolitical frictions.
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Some 68 million people visited the US from abroad last year, a 5.5 per cent drop from 2024, according to the International Trade Administration. While events such as the Fifa World Cup are expected to boost the US tourism sector this year, disruptions to global travel from the Iran war could hinder a more meaningful recovery.
The US travel and tourism sector contributed US$2.6 trillion to global gross domestic product last year, while China added US$1.8 trillion, according to the WTTC. BLOOMBERG
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