Development in China's tourism industry improved in 2018

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According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in China on Wednesday, China's tourism industry brought in 5.97 trillion yuan (882 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, up 10.5 percent compared to that of 2017.

The ministry concluded that in 2018, domestic tourism industry made an overall contribution of 9.94 trillion yuan to China's GDP, accounting for 11 percent of the total GDP. The tourism sector created 79.9 million direct and indirect jobs, making up nearly 10.3 percent of the total employed population.

The ministry revealed more detailed statistics. The total number of outbound and inbound trips reached almost 291 million in 2018, up 7.8 percent year-on-year, with 149.72 million outbound trips made by Chinese tourists which increased by 14.7 percent compared to the previous year, and 141.2 million inbound trips made by tourists from outside of the Chinese mainland.

Among the inbound trips, 30.54 million were made by foreign travelers, 76.3 percent of whom were from Asia.

For Chinese residents, besides traveling overseas, domestic tourist spots are still popular. The number of domestic trips taken by Chinese travelers exceeded 5.5 billion in 2018, an increase of 10.8 percent compared to that of 2017.

(With inputs from Xinhua News Agency)