China Will Be a Travel Destination Even After Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics in China are expected to extend an international travel trend after the games are completed. Since 1992, the host country for each Olympiad has reported a significant increase in foreign travelers. A recent survey by AAA Auto Club found that many of its members plan to visit China. The survey, known as AAA Travel Pulse Report, found 17 percent of AAA members "say seeing the beauty of China during the Summer Olympics will inspire them to visit China in the future." Another eight percent of AAA members said they plan to visit China within three years.
Among sites that AAA members would be interested in seeing in China are the Forbidden City, Yangtze River, Tiananmen Square, and the Ming Dynasty tombs. Eighty percent of those surveyed said the most likely site they would visit is the Great Wall of China. In a news release, Teresa Hildebrand, vice president for travel, AAA Auto Club South, said, "Even without the Olympics calling attention to China, we've seen a growing interest from travelers to visit the Great Wall of China."
Hildebrand also noted that AAA "saw a dramatic increase in tourism for the respective destinations following each of the last four Olympic Games; Barcelona in '92; Atlanta in '96; Sydney in 2000 and Athens in '04. And we expect the same will occur for China tourism following the conclusion of this year's Summer Olympics."
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