By Zhang Qi and Chen Hongna, Department of Foreign Economic Relations, Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC)

Research Report No 14, 2015 (Total 4699)

Abstract:

International tourism has been growing rapidly in recent years so the tourist business is playing a more important role in the global economy. China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea are major tourist sources and destinations for each other and have seen regional tourism boom, thanks to their close geographical position, cultural and economics and trade connections as well as government efforts. Of the three, China's tourism has developed fastest, while Republic of Korea relies on Chinese and Japanese tourists most. But, in spite of the increased cooperation, tourism in the three countries is also influenced by the economic slow-down, political issues and natural disasters.

Still, tourism is a new growth point for global economic development, and a major impetus for regional integration and cooperation. So, China, Japan and ROK need to make better use of tourism cooperation to promote regional integration and cultural exchanges, improve the regional tourism cooperation system, information exchanges and infrastructure construction, and tap their tourism market potential to inject new vitality into economic development and regional cooperation among the three countries.