There were fewer people visiting China this September than there were last September despite the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

According to the China National Tourism Administration, the number of inbound tourists decreased 5.94 percent from a year ago to 10.56 million in September.

Analysts attribute the decline to a spike in hotel prices, a control on visas being issued and the global financial crisis.

Tourism revenue shrank by 11.36 percent to US$3.14 billion in September. From January to September of this year, revenue slumped 3.26 percent to US$29.83 billion, the administration said.

The number of people traveling from China, however, continued to grow, said the administration.

In September, more than 3.72 million Chinese traveled abroad, up 9.04 percent compared with the same period last year. From January to September, more than 34.39 million Chinese went overseas, up 14.80 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2008)