Julia Simpson, President and CEO of the World Travel and Tourism Council, recently stated in an interview with Xinhua News Agency in Perth, Australia that global business travel has returned to the right track and is recovering much faster than expected. It is expected that the business travel industry in countries such as China will continue to improve. On October 3rd, Chinese tourists visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. Xinhua News Agency (photographed by Laheng) Simpson told Xinhua News Agency reporters during the global industry conference held by the agency a few days ago that although online communication such as virtual meetings played a key role in achieving business communication during the COVID-19 epidemic, allowing people to keep in touch with enterprises, face-to-face communication was better. The World Tourism and Travel Council's "2024 Economic Impact Trends Report" predicts that the global business travel market will surpass 2019 levels and reach a record high of $1.5 trillion in 2024. The report shows that as the world's second-largest business travel market, business travel expenses in China are expected to increase by 13.1% compared to 2019, reaching nearly 211 billion US dollars. Simpson said that China's domestic tourism market is very strong, and more and more Chinese people travel abroad. The international travel expenditure of Chinese tourists accounts for about 15% of the global travel expenditure. Simpson specifically mentioned that Chinese tourists have distinct characteristics, such as a love for nature and an interest in the unknown, which are widely welcomed in the tourism industry of various countries. According to statistics, in 2023, the contribution of the tourism industry to the global gross domestic product is about 9.9 trillion US dollars, almost reaching pre pandemic levels. The World Tourism and Travel Council is committed to enhancing people's understanding of the tourism industry and travel. Headquartered in London, its members include executives from approximately 100 major tourism companies worldwide. (New Society)