China's inbound, outbound tourism markets expand in 2017: reports

SHANGHAI - The Chinese mainland saw inbound and outbound tourists reach 139 million and 131 million in 2017, up by 0.8 percent and 6.9 percent respectively, according to reports released Wednesday.

China Tourism Academy (CTA), a think tank under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said in the reports that outbound tourists spent $115.29 billion on their trips, up by 5 percent year on year.

In comparison, foreign visitors to China reached 29.1 million, up by 3.6 percent, bringing in $69.5 billion of revenue.

The report notes an increasing number of inbound tourists from Belt and Road countries.

China's outbound tourism market is estimated to increase by 5 percent annually on average in the coming years, bringing the number of outbound tourists to 157 million in 2020, said Dai Bin, CTA president.