By 2018, Chinese travelers are going to be the biggest tourism group in the US, with the number expected to hit 4.7 million annually, according to Christopher Thompson, president & CEO of Brand USA, who was speaking at the Welcome China, a Tourism Exchange Activity event at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Thompson said Chinese visitors remained the fastest growing group among all other countries. "Last year, the US welcomed 1.47 million Chinese visitors, 35 percent higher than 2011," he said on Tuesday.

As part of the evening's event, 1,000 Chinese tourists took a special night tour of the museum. The tourists were from several agencies and invited because their itineraries coincided with the event.

Among the dignitaries present were Shao Qiwei, head of China's National Tourism Administration; George Fertitta, chief executive officer of NYC & Company; Sun Guoxiang, Chinese Consul General in New York; and Thomas P. Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Shao Qiwei said the Tourism Exchange Activity was a major follow up on the pledges made by Chinese Presidents Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Barack Obama to strengthen people-to-people exchanges that can serve as a catalyst for establishing a new model of major country relations between China and the US.

"This year, we are witnessing ever expanding bilateral tourism traffic between our two countries," said Shao. "Bilateral tourist exchanges have expanded to 3.8 million annually and are increasing at a rate of 10 percent a year.

"Thompson told me that each Chinese tourist will spend around $7,000 on a trip to the US," Shao said, adding that the figure was far higher than he expected.

"We attach great importance to the role tourism can play in promoting friendship between our two peoples," Shao said.

Shao mentioned that China and the US are important tourism source markets and destinations for each other and he appreciated the steps the US had made to streamline the visiting process for Chinese tourists.

"We are aware the US government has taken a series of visa facilitation measures to welcome Chinese visitors," said Shao. "The US sent 50 additional visa officers to China and they have made the process easier."

Tourism directors from 31 Chinese provinces also attended the event. One representative said he hoped the tourism exchange activity would not only bring more Chinese travelers to the US, but also attract more Americans to China.

Campbell, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said it was the museum's honor to host the event.

"Last year, we welcomed 172,000 Chinese visitors," said Campbell. "Our guidebook of museum masterpieces in Chinese is now so popular that it has surpassed, in sales, each of our guidebooks in other languages - including English. Other amenities for our Chinese visitors - maps, tours and publications - continue to increase in use exponentially as well.

"This level of growth is truly remarkable, and we are expecting more," Campbell added.

Recently, some Chinese tourists have been affected by the US government's partial shutdown. Zhang Yi, 53, a Chinese traveler to the US, complained about the lack of spots to visit.

"My family was so excited about the trip to the US during the week-long National Day holiday," said Zhang. "But national museums, zoos and other famous spots were closed."

Addressing the Chinese travelers' frustrations, Shao said it was hard to find anyone responsible for the problem. "You can shut down some places, but not to tourists," said Shao.

Fertitta, chief executive officer of NYC & Company, said New York City was expecting to welcome more Chinese visitors.

"In 2008, when the US was granted approved destination status, we were given a tremendous opportunity. New York City was one of the first US cities to establish a representative office in China and take advantage of this opportunity. It was a chance to become among the first to welcome millions of new visitors to our city and forge mutual understanding and international relationships," he said.

Fertita also mentioned that New York City welcomed a record 541,000 visitors from China last year, up nearly 27 percent from 2011, the highest growth of any country, and they were expecting to welcome even more.

The increasing number of Chinese tourists is not only in New York City, he said, but across the whole country.

haidanhu12@chinadailyusa.com

From left: George Fertitta, chief executive officer of NYC & Company; Sun Guoxiang, Chinese consul general in New York; Shao Qiwei, head of China's National Tourism Administration; Christopher Thompson, president & CEO of Brand USA, post for photo at the Welcome China ceremony on Tuesday. The event was to welcome more Chinese travelers to the US. Hu Haidan / China Daily

(China Daily USA 10/10/2013 page2)