The latest statistics issued by the China National Tourism Administration indicate that in October 2008, the number of inbound tourists to China was 11,220,000, a decrease of 3.22% compared to the same month of 2007.
In last few months the number of inbound tourists to China has decreased steadily. Taking advantage of opportunities resulting from the success of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, CNTA held a series of large scale tourism promotion targeting international markets; however the travel expenditure of tourists from China's major inbound tourist source markets, such as the USA, Europe, and Japan fell sharply due to the global financial crisis and this offset the benefits of those promotions.
It is reported that the number of inbound tourists that China International Travel Service Head Office processed decreased by more than 20%.
(China Hospitality News December 5, 2008)
