China to Pass France as Most-Visited Country by 2030

China to Pass France as Most-Visited Country by 2030

China will pass France as the world’s most-visited country by 2030, say experts at Euromonitor International, a market research group.

In a new report, Euromonitor predicted there will be 1.4 billion trips made in 2018. That would be a 5 percent increase from last year.

Much of the increase in travel and tourism is centered in the Asia-Pacific area. The number of trips there is expected to grow by 10 percent this year.

The area has been helped by fast-growing economies and an expanding middle class.

Wouter Geerts is a travel expert with Euromonitor. He said the increasingly less restrictive passport rules have made traveling in Asia easier.

He also said major sporting events will likely increase travel to and within the Asia-Pacific area even more. Tokyo is hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics. Beijing is hosting the 2022 winter games.

By 2030, China is expected to be the world’s number one destination.

Geerts said, “Tourism has been a key pillar of the Chinese economy, and much investment has been made to improve infrastructure and standards, in addition to tourism-friendly policies...”

Other places that are expected to see an increase in tourism are Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey, Euromonitor notes. Security concerns led to a sharp drop in visitor numbers in all three countries in recent years.

Egypt’s tourism industry seems to be improving especially. Civil conflict in the country in 2011 and the downing of a Russian passenger plane over the Sinai area in 2015 had hurt the market.

But Egypt’s travel bookings have risen 134 percent in the last year.

However, the industry has not risen to where it was in 2010. Egyptian government records show 8 million tourists visited the country last year. Almost two times that many - 14 million people - visited Egypt in 2010.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Pan Pylas reported this story for the Associated Press. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

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Words in This Story

tourism – n. the business of providing hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc., for people who are traveling

destination – n. place to which a person is going or something is being sent

pillar – n. something that is important part; something that helps to support something larger

infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

standard – n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable or desirable

booking – n. an arrangement to have something (such as a room) held for your use at a later time