China's Inbound Tourist Numbers Decreased By 5.94% In September

The latest statistics issued by the China National Tourism Administration indicate that in September 2008, the number of inbound tourists in China was 10,564,000, a decrease of 5.94% compared to the same month of 2007.

Of these, 1,883,300 were tourists to China from overseas markets, down by 15.10% compared to the same period of last year. This September, China achieved a total of USD3.142 billion in tourism foreign exchange earnings, a decrease of 11.36% year-on-year.

From January to September this year, China welcomed a total of 97,297,400 inbound tourists, a decrease of 0.37% year-on-year; the number of international arrivals visiting to China went down by 3.53% to 18,352,700; and China's total tourism foreign exchange earnings was USD29.828 billion, a decrease of 3.26% from the same period of last year.

In addition, in September 2008, the number of Chinese outbound tourists was 3,717,500, an increase of 9.04% year-on-year, while that for the first nine months of 2008 totaled 34,391,800, up by 14.8% compared to the same period of last year.

According to the analysis of CNTA, due to the series of serious natural disasters and unexpected incidents that took place in China this year, the Chinese tourism industry has been affected to a certain degree. Also, the global financial crisis has had an adverse impact on Chinese inbound market.