In 2005, the number of inbound visitors to China totaled 120.29 million, a year-on-year rise of 10.3 percent. Of this total, 20.26 million were foreigners, up 19.6 percent; and 100.03 million were Chinese compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, up 8.6 percent. Of all international tourists, those who stayed at least one night in China accounted for 46.81 million, up 12.1 percent. Foreign exchange earnings from international tourism topped $29.3 billion, up 13.8 percent. The number of China’s outbound visitors totaled 31.03 million, up 7.5 percent. Of this total, 25.14 million were on private visits, a year-on-year rise of 9.4 percent, or 81 percent of all outgoing visitors. The year 2005 saw 1.2 billion domestic tourists, up 10 percent. Revenue from domestic tourism totaled 528.6 billion yuan, up 12.2 percent. Total revenue from both international and domestic tourism was 768.6 billion yuan, up 12.4 percent.

Travel Across the Taiwan Strait The mainland announced to lift a ban for its residents to travel to Taiwan on May 3, 2005, and has since promoted cross-strait cooperation in this field actively and pragmatically. On September 8, the First Cross-Strait Tourism Exposition opened in Xiamen, which highlighted abundant tourist resources on the mainland and in Taiwan. Two days later, tourist workers from both sides of the strait met in Wuyishan Mountain in mainland’s Fujian Province on September 10 to discuss arrangements for Taiwan-bound mainland tourists and reached a series of agreements. The mainland-based China Tourism Association organized an inspection group, consisting of representatives of provincial tourism associations and major tourist enterprises on the mainland, to make a 10-day visit to Taiwan beginning October 28. In November, the Taiwan Visitors’ Association, for the first time, sent a delegation to participate in the China Int’l Tourism Fair in Kunming, Yunnan Province on the mainland. Through 2005, Taiwan residents conducted a total of 4.11 million visits to the mainland, representing a consolidated status of the island as one of the mainland’s major tourist sources.

In 2006-10, China’s tourist sector is expected to achieve the following objectives: numbers of inbound visitors and visitors who stay at least one night in China are up 8 percent annually on average, respectively; foreign exchange earnings, up 12 percent; domestic tourists, up 8 percent; revenue from domestic tourism, up 10 percent; and revenue of the whole sector, up 10 percent. At the end of this period, China’s revenue from international tourism will reach 53 billion yuan, that from domestic tourism total 850 billion yuan and that of the whole sector add up to 1.27 trillion yuan. With an annual addition of 500,000 recruits, people directly engaged in tourism will arrive at 10 million in 2010.