China bucks tourism downturn

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The China National Tourism Administration has said that the increase in foreign arrivals last year was helped by the global downturn in tourism elsewhere, as the fear of terrorist attack dissuaded visitors to other destinations

New figures show the number of arrivals in 2002 grew 9.9% to 97.9m. The number of foreign visitors--excluding those from Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong--rose 19.7% year-on-year to 13.4m.

Arrivals from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland increased by 5.6% to 61.9m. Tourists from Macau to China grew 20% to 18.9m, while 3.7m Taiwanese visited China last year, up 6.35%. The Administration said more than 16.6m mainland residents travelled abroad last year, many for the first time. This represents an increase of nearly 40% on 2001.

According to the tourist body, China's revenue from tourism in 2002 reached HK$523bn ($67bn).