Chinese investment in tourism will double to around CNY2 trillion yuan (USD$306 billion) by 2020, the China National Tourism Administration said, as the country looks to support its service sectors and tap consumer spending.

Tourism investment will hit CNY1.25 trillion yuan this year, the tourism body forecast in an annual report. Investment in the sector rose 42 percent to top CNY1 trillion in 2015, it said.

China is pinning hopes on areas such as travel to propel growth amid signs of weaknesses in many key areas of the economy.

"In the future we think tourism investment has huge potential with hot spots starting to spring up," the tourism body said. Online travel services, rural tourism, cruising and sports tourism were big investment areas, it added.

Investment from the private sector accounted for just over 57 percent of money pumped into the sector last year, it said.