China on Saturday reported sharp increases in the number of
foreign tourists and tourism dollars in the first 11 months in
2004, jumping by around 20 percent and 50 percent year-on-year,
respectively.
"The numbers of inbound tourists and foreign tourists in the
January-November period both exceeded the total numbers for the
whole year in 2002," an official with the National Tourism
Administration said.
China netted US$23.5 billion in tourist revenue in the first 11
months, representing an increase of 49.61 percent compared with the
corresponding time in 2003, he said.
The country received inbound tourists of 99.14 million in the 11
months, 19.6 percent more than the same time in the previous
year.
(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2005)
