2 Chinese tourists drown near central Philippine island

18:08, December 30, 2019

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  Chinese tourists vital for tourism development of Pacific island countries: Fijian official

  Photo: VCGSUVA, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tourists are very important for the tourism development of the Pacific island countries like Fiji, said a Fijian official on Wednesday."As the Pacific island countries like Fiji, we warmly welcome Chinese tourists as they are contributing to the development of our tourism," Nanise Masau, director of Fijis Department of Tourism told Xinhua while welcoming the arrival of the Costa Atlantica cruise which carries about 1,800 Chinese tourists.To show Fijis hospitality, the department worked together with China Cultural Center in Fiji by organizing a Bula (traditional) welcoming ceremony for the Chinese tourists at Suva Port with traditional warriors and musicians.The Chinese market is very important and Fiji has done everything possible to attract more Chinese tourists, she said, adding that Fiji is getting ready to receive Chinese tourists.According to Nanise Masau, In 2018, Fiji received a total of 49,721 visitors from China, an year-on-year increase of 1 percent. Average Chinese visitor arrival growth over the last five years recorded 17.1 percent.Annual tourism earnings from the Chinese market in 2018 recorded 100.6 million Fijian dollars (about 46.6 million U.S. dollars), a 17.1 percent increase compared to 2017. Tourism earnings from the Chinese market has grown at an average 21.1 percent over the last five years.Tourism is the most important industry in Fiji and the biggest foreign exchange earner for the country.Fiji has in recent years received more than 800,000 visitors per year. The Fijian government has set a goal of developing the tourism industry to a 2.2 billion Fijian dollars (about 1 billion U.S. dollar) industry by 2021.Currently, China is Fijis fourth largest tourist market and tourism earnings from the Chinese market account for close to 5 percent of the countrys total tourism earnings.For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Qian Bo said that over the past decades, China ...

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  Heavy clashes erupt near Lebanon's central bank

  Lebanon.protesters.economic.

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  22 Chinese tourist attractions to be added to 5A category

  In 1999, after a thorough investigation, the Wuzhen Dongzha Block Protection and Development Project formulated and detailed restoration and improvement plans. The Dongzha Project in Wuzhen Ancient Town Protection and Development began to be implemented, referred to as "Dongzha Scenic Spot." (Photo: Xinhua)BEIJING (Xinhua) -- A total of 22 tourist attractions, including Beijings Old Summer Palace, are expected to be added to the 5A category, the highest level in the rating system, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) on Wednesday.The selected tourist attractions were recommended by local tourism administrations and evaluated in accordance with standards and regulations by the MCT.Apart from the Old Summer Palace, or "Yuanmingyuan" in Chinese, tourist attractions in north Chinas Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, east Chinas Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces were also included in the list.China has a tourism-rating classification system which rates a tourist attraction from one A to 5A for its overall tourism quality.China now has over 10,300 tourist attractions rated above A level, receiving more than 6 billion visitors a year.