China's tourism industry reported an foreign exchange earning of US$22 billion in the first nine months this year, up 18.2 percent year-on-year.

China received 89.63 million tourists from outside the mainland in the nine months, up 12.2 percent year-on-year, said Sun Gang, deputy director of National Tourism Administration at the 42nd congress of International Hotel & Restaurant Association over the weekend.

Of the total, overseas tourists who stayed over in China were numbered 34.79 million, up 14.4 percent year-on-year, Sun said.

Sun recalled that in 1978, when China began its reform and open-up drive, the country only received 1.81 million overseas tourists and had a foreign exchange earning of 263 million dollars.

In 2004, the number of tourists from outside the mainland reached 109 million, including 41.76 million who stayed over night and foreign exchange earnings from tourism reached 25.7 billion dollars.

The International Hotel & Restaurant Association is the only global organization in the sector of hotel and catering that is ratified by the United Nations with nearly 150 members from different countries and regions.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2005)