From September 15, seven countries will be added to the list of China's outbound tourism destinations for group tours.

The nine countries are Guyana in South America; Ecuador and Dominica in Central America; Mali, Cape Verde, and Ghana in Africa; Papua New Guinea in Oceania; Montenegro in Europe; and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East.

According to some professionals, except for UAE, due to problems of visa, flights and familiarity, it will be difficult for travel agencies to organize tour groups for the other eight countries. However, UAE has long been promoting its tourism in China. With direct flights from Beijing to Dubai, UAE will be a valuable market for Agencies' tour groups.

(China Hospitality News August 11, 2009)