China's tourism revenue totaled 1.16 trillion yuan (US$169.5 billion) last year, up 5.8 percent year-on-year, according to the National Tourism Administration.

The revenue includes 874.9 billion yuan earned from local travelers and 283.9 billion yuan from overseas tourists. The two figures for 2007 were 777.1 billion yuan and 312.9 billion yuan, respectively.

The data showed that domestic tourism still held up while inbound tourism declined as the global economic slowdown cut travel demand.

Last year China received 130 million inbound travelers, including those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, down 1.4 percent from a year earlier.

The number of foreign tourists was 24.3 million, down 6.8 percent from the previous year. The number of inbound travelers staying longer than one night dropped 3.1 percent to 53.1 million.

The global financial crisis cut inbound travel, but China's outbound tourism bucked the trend.

Chinese tourists made 45.8 million outbound tours in 2008, up 11.9 percent from 2007, as the appreciation of the yuan against most other currencies raises their purchasing power.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2009)