China received 92.2 million overseas tourists in the first nine months of the year, up 2.86 percent on the same period in 2005, the China National Tourism Administration said on Monday.

 

The country's revenue from overseas tourists totaled US$23.03 billion between January and September, representing a growth of 5.63 percent.

 

Of the total 16.1 million were foreign nationals and the rest from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

 

Arrivals of overseas tourists totaled 10.4 million in September, a rise of 5.56 percent.

 

As in September, South Korea was the largest source of foreign tourists for China, with 334,169 arrivals. It was followed by Japan, Russia and the US.

 

China is now ranked fourth in the world in terms of overseas tourist arrivals. The World Tourism Organization has predicted that China will become the No. 1 tourist destination and the fourth largest source of tourists by 2020.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2006)