China tourism revenues surge 17.3 pct in first half

The National Tourism Administration (NTA) data showed Tuesday that the tourism industry's total revenues reached 1.28 trillion yuan (202 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, up 17.3 percent year on year.

The surge followed a 14.6-percent rise in the number of domestic trips made during the period, which totaled 1.55 billion. Revenues from domestic travels hit 1.13 trillion yuan, up 20.1 percent, vice chief Wang Zhifa of the NTA said at a tourism conference in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province.

During the first half of the year, the number of inbound trips hit 28.35 million, up 1.3 percent, Wang said.

Chinese made a total of 38 million overseas visits during the period, up 18 percent, Wang said.