May 30 – During 2009 126.6 million tourists visited China, a 3 percent drop from 2008 figures of 130 million visitors. The China Tourism Authority (CTA) forecasts that 130 million visitors will come to China this year.
Outbound tourism has been growing rapidly in China, and 2009 is the first year the country has had a tourism deficit since 1984. Chinese tourists spent about $43.7 billion oveseas last year, $4 billion (Dh 14.69 bn) more than foreign tourists spent in China. Estimates indicate that the deficit will increase to $5 bn or $6 bn this year as China’s economic growth outpaces that of the rest of the world, allowing more Chinese to travel overseas. CTA data shows that domestic travel far exceeds international travel in China. Last year there were 1.9 billion visits in the domestic market and this is expected to grow 12 percent to 2.1 billion trips this year.
