BEIJING: More than 12 million foreign tourists visited China in the first half of 2007 and the country is in line to set a new record if the trend continues, according to the national tourist body.
The total for the first six months of the year is 18 per cent up on the same period from 2006, suggesting the number of foreign visitors could exceed last year's record of 22 million.
Tourism growth is expected to stay strong in coming years with an expected boost from next year's Beijing Olympics, and another shot in the arm supplied by the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.
As a result, China is tipped to overtake France by 2014 as the world's top tourism destination, according to the World Tourism Organisation.
According to the China National Tourism Administration, total spending by foreign tourists in the first half of the year -- excluding visitors from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan -- rose to 18 billion US dollars, up 13.1 per cent.
The report published Saturday by the official news agency Xinhua said that arrivals from South Korea were up 30 per cent in the first half of 2007, while arrivals from India and Russia rose by around 16 per cent.
Arrivals from Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and the United States also registered growth of more than 10 per cent.
Beijing is expecting to welcome 500,000 overseas visitors during the 2008 Summer Games from August 8-24 next year. - AFP/ac
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