China’s inbound visitor numbers start to rebound

HANGZHOU – China’s booming domestic tourism has offset the negative impact of a declining number of inbound travellers during the first half of this year.

“The number of foreign tourists visiting China declined eight percent in the first six months compared to the same time last year,” said Du Jiang, deputy head of the National Tourism Administration (NTA).

NTA attributed the downturn in numbers to the impact of the global economic crisis and fears associated with the swine flu virus.

The official Xinhua news agency reports that as global economic conditions began to turn around, the number of inbound tourists increased three percent in August after falling for 15 consecutive months since May last year.

However, almost one billion domestic trips were made during the first half, up 12 percent year on year.

Tourism revenue increased by 11 percent to US$73.2 billion in the same period.

Jiang said the NTA would shortly unveil more stimulus measures to spur domestic travel and promote employment.