China Encourages Overseas Investment in Travel Agencies

China is encouraging overseas investors to establish jointly invested travel agencies in the country.

The aim is to further expand the opening of the travel industry sector to the outside world and to promote the growth of the industry.

The Interim Procedures for Overseas-Invested Travel Agencies was jointly issued by the China National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation on December 2,1998.

Overseas applicants must be involved in international travel services, or a wholly-owned enterprise running an international travel service, must have an annual tourism turnover of at least US$50 million, have joined international or their respective national computer booking networks, or have set up their own in-house network, and should have full membership of their respective officially recognized national tourism associations.

Chinese partners must also be involved in international travel services, and demonstrate that they have had over 300,000 overseas customers annually in the three years running prior to their application. They must also have an annual tourism turnover of at least 50 million yuan(about US$6.04 million )for three years before applying, and should have full membership to China's tourism associations.

The regulations stipulate that the registered capital of a jointly-invested travel agency must be at least five million yuan (about US$604,000), and the joint venture should be one of limited liability, with the Chinese side holding at least 51 percent of shares.

In addition, the legal representative of the joint venture shall be appointed by the Chinese side,and the venture must have a proper and approved place of business,facilities and personnel. The term of the joint venture should be for a maximum of 20 years.

An overseas partner can only establish one joint venture with a Chinese partner and no subsidiary is allowed in the interim period.

The business scope of a joint travel service includes China travel for overseas tourists and domestic travel. The business of Chinese national traveling overseas, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,Macao and Taiwan, is excluded.

Special travel programs and travel for various specific destinations must first obtain approval from the China National Tourism Administration and other departments.

Investors from the Hong Kong SAR,Macao and Taiwan will enjoy the same treatment as investors from other parts of the world.

So far,there is only one jointly-invested travel agency in China.The Yunnan-Litian Travel Service was set up last May in southwest China's Yunnan Province, jointly funded by Dietherm Co. of Switzerland and the China International Travel Service (CITS)and the Yunnan Travel Company Ltd.with a registered capital of US$1 million, 51 percent of which came from the Chinese partner.

Dietherm is the general agent of 30-odd European travel agents operating in Southeast Asia, while the CITS is the largest travel agency in China.

A Record High of Exits and Entries in 1998

According to the statistics of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, in 1998 the number of exits and entries registered a record high. China's frontier inspection stations checked 142.97 million people, an increase of 9 percent over 1997.

Among the exits and entries, 16.85 million were Chinese citizens from the mainland (including overseas Chinese), an increase of 2.5 percent; 107.56 million were Hong Kong and Macao inhabitants, an increase of 12 percent; 4.33 million were Taiwan compatriots, an increase of 3 percent; and 14.22 million were foreigners, a decrease of 3.6 percent.

Among China's 175 ports of entry and exit, Shenzhen's Luohu Port ranked first in the number of exits and entries, making up 46 percent of the total, followed by Zhuhai's Gongbei, Shenzhen's Huanggang, Beijing's Capital Airport and Shanghai's Hongqiao Airport.

In 1998,the exits of Chinese citizens from the mainland numbered 8.53 million, an increase of 3 percent over 1d997; they went to 243 countries and regions, the top ten including Hong Kong (3,373,188), Macao (1,597,713), Thailand, Japan, Russia, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the People's Democratic Republic of Korea, and Australia.

In 1998, the number of foreign arrivals amounted to 7.11 million, a decrease of 4 percent over 1997.The top ten source countries include Japan, Russia, the United States, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Britain and Canada.

New Tour Routes in Tibet

Tibet will launch new tour programs this year, including the Adventurous Tour of a depopulated zone on the Qiangtang Grassland, Ecological Tour of the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, Ecological Tour of Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve, Tour Along the Yunnan-Tibet Old Tea-Horse Road, Hei-Chang Sightseeing Tour, and Ecological Tour along the Sichuan-Tibet Highway.

The new tour routes include northern Tibet grassland, southern Tibet river valley and eastern Tibet primeval forests,reflecting the diversity of Tibet's ecological environment.

The vast Qiangtang Grassland in northern Tibet is a kingdom for wild animals, and the Mount Qomolangma Nature Reserve protects the environment of the highest mountain in the world. The Yunnan-Tibet Old Tea-Horse Road has beautiful scenery and unique folklore, and on the Hei-Chang Sightseeing Tour, from Nagqu in northern Tibet to Qamdo, tourists can enjoy different landscapes of pastoral areas and forest zones and different folk customs. The primeval forests along the Sichuan -Tibet Highway will allow tourists to experience Tibet's rich ecological environment and unique folklore.

Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon to Become Natural Reserve

China plans to enlarge the current Medog Nature Reserve and change its name to the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Nature Reserve to better protect its natural resources, according to the State Administration of Forestry(SAF).

When this is accomplished, the entire Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the largest such natural formation in the world, will be included in the Medog Nature Reserve.

"The time is right to extend the Medog Nature Reserve," said an official with the administration's Wild Fauna and Flora Protection Department.

One section of the grand canyon is currently included in the Medog Nature Reserve, but, the official noted, this is not enough to protect the rich natural resources of the entire canyon.

He also noted that it is better to establish one nature reserve rather than set up several within one biological-geographic system, so the bureau decided to extend the current Medog Nature Reserve rather than establish a new one.

The Medog Nature Reserve currently encompasses an area of 62,620 hectares.

An overall plan has been drawn up by Tibet Autonomous Region, and the SAF is now submitting its report to the State Council.

The SAF announced that it will provide funds and technological support during and after the process of extending the Medog Nature Reserve.

China has now established two natural reserves in the Tibet Autonomous Region, abundant in plants and rare wild animals.

During the past 20 years, China has sent scientists to explore the grand canyon several times, times, and they have made great achievements, especially recently when a research team hiked through the canyon on foot.