Chinese nationals have become the largest number of foreign tourists visiting other countries in 2015 as the number of outbound visitors crossed 120 million, registering an 11 million increase from last year.
About 120 million Chinese traveled overseas in 2015, up from 109 million the previous year, data from the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said.
This was an increase of 19.5 per cent year-on-year and nearly 13 times the level in 1998, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The increase in outbound tourists is attributed to more relaxed visa policies and rising disposable incomes, the CNTA said.
The rising number of Chinese tourists has made several countries, including India, to make efforts to attract visitors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced e-visas to Chinese tourists during his visit to China in May this year.
Chinese government tourism statistics say that Chinese outbound tourists had spent a record USD 164.8 billion overseas in 2014.
Also China's booming domestic tourism market saw over 4 billion journeys in 2015, generating tourism revenue of over 4 trillion yuan (USD 620 billion), CNTA said.
Rural tourism will be promoted next year to help poverty relief in poor regions, the CNTA said.
