In accordance with Document No. 98 [2007] of State Commission (CTA) was established as a specialized institute in Beijing on June 6Office of Public Sectors Reform (SCOPSR), China Tourism Academy th, 2008. CTA was approved as the National Tourism Data Center (NTDC) by SCOPSR in December 2015, and listed as a central-level scientific research institution by Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). In September 2018, the original NTDC was renamed Data Center of the MCT according to the Document No. 80 (B. R. F. [2018]) of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT).

With the vision of being the “think tank of the government, brainpower of the industry and highland of the theory for industries integration development and international exchanges of the Chinese culture and tourism”, CTA (Data Center of the MCT) is an independent institution with legal personality that is mainly responsible for the policy and theory research on tourism, the research on the integrated development of culture and tourism, and statistics and data analysis of culture and tourism. It currently has 10 internal institutions, namely the Department of Administration and Personnel, Department of International Exchange and Finance (Dept. of Publicity & Promotion), Department of Academic Research, Institute of Strategy, Institute of Policy and Science & Education, Institute of Industry, Institute of Planning and Leisure, Institute of International Research (Institute of HK, Macao and Taiwan), Institute of Statistics and Survey, and Institute of Data Analysis.

In 2009, CTA obtained Grade A qualification for tourism planning, and won approval for carrying out tourism research projects and evaluation of research achievements. Approved by the MCT, CTA started to engage in macro decision-making projects of culture and tourism, and the selection of excellent research achievements in this regard since 2019. Since 2005, CTA has been committed to performing statistics and analysis of festival and holiday tourism market, and analyzing statistics and data of culture and tourism. In 2013, it was approved to establish the first postdoctoral scientific research workstation in China aligned to the tourism discipline. The Tourism Economy Laboratory was recognized as the first key laboratory in the tourism industry in 2014, and was renamed as the Key Laboratory of Tourism Economy and MCT in 2019. A number of fundamental research projects such as the tourism economy operation monitoring and early warning system and the tourism development quality evaluation system have been completed. In 2014, the National Tourism Documentation and Information Center was approved for construction.

CTA sets up an Academic Committee and gather academic consultants by appointing culture and tourism scholars inside and outside CTA; establishes branches and research centers relying on universities and research institutes; and builds data cooperation networks such as branch centers, special bases, joint laboratories and observatories relying on local governments, enterprises and public institutions. It organizes China Tourism Academy Summit, China Tourism Groups Development Forum, China Summer Resort Tourism Forum, China Ice and Snow Tourism Development Forum,China Nighttime Economy Forumand other brand conferences.

CTA completed research on the theoretical connotation of General Secretary Xi Jinping's keynote speech on tourism and its guiding role in the development of tourism in the new era, the drafting and research on the Outline for National Tourism and Leisure, and Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China, and major projects such as fiveyear tourism development plan and the National Philosophy and Social Science Foundation. CTA has published a series of contemporary tourism development theories, Statistical System for Tourism Statistics,China's Tourism Performance: Review & Forecast,Annual Report of China's Lodging Industry Development, Annual Report of China's Tourism Service Industry Development, Annual Report ofChina Tourism Scenic Development, Annual Report of China Tourism Groups Development, Annual Report of China Inbound Tourism Development, Annual Report of China Outbound Tourism Development, Annual Report of China Domestic Tourism Development, and Annual Report of China Leisure Development. CTA also issued academic publications such as the Internal Tourism References, China Tourism Review, and Big Data on China's Culture and Tourism 2020.It has successively won the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Prize and Awards, Technological nnovation Award, National Invention Patents and other academic honors.