China CYTS Tours Holding Co Ltd (CYTS), a Chinese tourism service provider, said its profit for 2008 rose by merely 0.94 percent year-on-year to 309.34 million yuan, on sales of 4.59 billion yuan, up by 1.23 percent.

The sluggish profit growth forms a sharp contrast with a 153 percent hike in 2007.

The company's inbound tourism business was most severely damaged. Profit from the sector dropped by 36.1 percent from a year earlier to 17.14 million yuan, on sales of 326 million yuan, down by 24 percent. The domestic tourism sector generated sales worth 129 million yuan, down by 20.6 percent. The outbound tourism division created sales worth 329 million yuan.

Given that the global economy will likely continue to struggle in the short term, the company predicted its inbound tourism business will remain sluggish in 2009. But thanks to the Chinese government's commitment to stimulate the nation's domestic demand, CYTS said the outbound and domestic tourism sectors are expected to recover and return to a stable growth track.

(China Daily March 20, 2009)