China has granted tourist destination status to 26 African countries, according to an action plan endorsed by Chinese and African leaders Sunday.

"With the new decision of the Chinese government to extend the Approved Destination Status (ADS) to nine African countries including Algeria, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Gabon, Rwanda, Mali, Mozambique, Benin and Nigeria, there are now 26 ADS countries in Africa," says the document adopted at the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, a high-profile gathering of leaders from China and 48 African countries that have diplomatic relations with it.

The number of Chinese tourists to Africa reached 110,000 in 2005, doubling the 2004 figure, according to the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau of the Public Security Ministry.

Yet tourists to Africa currently account for merely five percent of the total outbound tourists from the world's most populous nation.

In 2005, the Chinese made 31 million trips overseas and the figure is expected to grow by 10 percent this year.

Eyeing the huge potential, governments and travel services in many African countries are wooing Chinese tourists and encouraging more Africans to travel to China.

According to statistics from the World Travel and Tourism Council, the travel and tourism industry in North Africa represents 13.4 percent of GDP and provides 12 percent of employment.

In sub-Saharan Africa, the sector contributes eight percent of GDP and generates 10.5 million jobs, accounting for 6.6 percent of total employment.

Tourism revenue in Africa is expected to grow by 4.7 percent annually in real terms between 2007 and 2016.

The Chinese government will extend ADS to more qualified African countries at their request, says the Action Plan. "China- Africa cooperation in the tourism industry will help promote understanding and friendship between their peoples," it says.

Chinese tourists can get visas to African countries within seven working days, according to Lin Bo, an executive with China International Travel Service, the country's largest travel service provider.

The landmark two-day Beijing Summit concluded Sunday afternoon, after two historic documents, a declaration and an action plan for 2007-2009, had been adopted.

Source: Xinhua