Beijing's Inbound Tourist Numbers Decrease By 30.2% In July

The Beijing Municipal Tourism Bureau has published the statistics showing that in July 2008, the numbers of both inbound tourists staying overnight in Beijing and the number of domestic travelers staying in Beijing hotels decreased sharply.

The data indicates that Beijing received a total of 270,000 inbound tourists that stayed overnight in the city in July, a decrease of 30.2% compared to the same period of 2007. Of these, the number of overseas tourists visiting to Beijing was 238,000, a decrease of 28.8% year-on-year; 20,000 were from Hong Kong, down by 32.4% from the same period of last year; 12,000 from Taiwan, a decrease of 47.6% from the same period in 2007. In July this year, star-grade hotels in Beijing hosted a total of 1,217,000 domestic and international arrivals, a decrease of 16.4% year-on-year.

Wang Zhifa, vice director of China National Tourism Administration, said in the 2008 Beijing International Media Center that from August 1 through August 11, the six cities that host the events of the 2008 Olympic Games have welcomed 175 inbound tour groups with a total of 6,350 tourists. The number of inbound tourists in China is expected to increase in August.