Beijing's Inbound Tourist Numbers Continue To Decrease

According to official statistics, Beijing welcomed a total of more than 1.87 million inbound tourists in the first half of 2008, a 5% decrease from the same period of last year.

This June, there were 299,000 inbound tourists to Beijing, a drop of 19.9% compared to the same month last year. The decrease rate of Beijing's inbound tourist numbers grew continuously from this March, down 1%, 5% and 14% in March, April, and May, respectively. The data was jointly published by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics and the Beijing Survey Team under the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

Yu Xiuqin, spokesman of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, said that with respect to the decrease trend of the number of inbound tourists to Beijing, Beijing taking strict security measures for the Olympic Games had some impact on inbound tourism business to some extent; but for a long-term, the Olympic Games is expected to play a stimulating role in Beijing's tourism market.