Tourism slump hurts China, too

By Alice Yuan
Bloomberg News Service

BEIJING — China's income from foreign visitors grew more slowly in 2001 as the terrorist attacks in the United States hurt world tourism, the China National Tourism Administration announced on its Web site.

Agency director He Guangwei said sales to foreign tourists rose 7.9 percent to $17.5 billion, compared with a 15 percent gain in 2000. Tourism income may rise to $18.5 billion this year, he said.

China's revenue from foreign tourism has been rising slowly since September. The number of U.S. travelers visiting China fell 11 percent in September because of the terrorist attacks, which prompted people to stay home or closer to home.

The number of foreign tourists rose 7.9 percent to 11 million in 2001, compared with a 20 percent increase in 2000. Including people from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, mainland China received 87 million visitors last year, a 4.2 percent increase.

He said China expects 90 million visitors from overseas in 2002, including travelers from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.