China tourism revenue grows fast in 2016

BEIJING - China's domestic tourism industry earned about 3.9 trillion yuan (about $563.6 billion) in 2016, up 14 percent year-on-year, official statistics showed on Monday.

Domestic tourists made 4.44 billion trips last year, an increase of 11 percent, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said

Inbound trips rose 3.8 percent to 138 million and outbound trips increased 4.3 percent to 122 million.

The nation's tourism service trade surplus rose 11.5 percent to $10.2 billion, the data showed.

The CNTA has attributed the sector's growth momentum to upgraded domestic consumption.

Domestic tourism is expected to increase 10 percent year-on-year to 4.88 billion trips in 2017, with revenue rising 12.5 percent to 4.4 trillion yuan, according to CNTA data.

China plans to raise tourism revenue to 7 trillion yuan by 2020, the Chinese government has said.

The nation will work to develop tourism into a major driver of economic transformation and upgrading. By 2020, investment in tourism is expected to grow to 2 trillion yuan, and the sector will contribute more than 12 percent of GDP, according to a State Council five-year tourism plan (2016-2020).