Dharamsala, Dec. 03 – Chinese Authorities said in comments published Wednesday that number of foreign tourists visiting China has gone down between January and October this year, and that the global economic crisis is likely to further the damage to its tourism industry next year.
Just 340,000 people went to Tibet between January and June this year, according to the official Tibet Daily newspaper – a dramatic drop from the same period in 2007, when more than 1.1 million people visited Tibet.
The number of foreign visitors staying overnight in China between January and October fell 1.9% year-on-year, the official China Daily said.
Shao Qiwei, head of the National Tourism Administration, said the trend is expected to continue in 2009.
“Foreign visitor arrivals are sure to decline next year as a result of the global economic slowdown, so we must focus our efforts on stimulating domestic demand,” Shao was quoted by China Daily as saying.
The report didn’t give any reasons for the drop in foreign tourist numbers, but the uprising in Tibet in March, the devastating earthquake in scenic Sichuan province in May and travel restrictions for foreigners in the lead-up to and during the Beijing Olympics in August have previously been linked to the setback to its tourism industry.
