NE China Tourism Boom in First Three Quarters

Heilongjiang province’s tourism bureau has reported more than 88.2 million visitors in the Jan - Sept period of 2015, a 22.3-percent increase over the same period of last year, with income from tourism during the period surpassing 100-billion yuan ($15 billion), for a 35.58-percent increase year-on-year.

The 100 .79 billion yuan tourism income includes almost 52 billion yuan from inbound travelers, for a year-on-year increase of 28.8 percent, and 48.8 billion yuan in spending by local people, up 43.58 percent. There were 17.16 million visitors from outside the province visiting in the first nine months, up 23 percent from last year, while local tourists amounted to almost 71 million, up 22.1 percent.

The Heilongjiang Airport Management Group reports that airports saw 103,911 takeoffs and landings, up 8.92 percent, and more than 12.73 million passengers for the period, up 14.56 percent. At the same time, the Harbin Railway Bureau reports least 75.4 million inbound and outbound passengers traveling by train, down 1.6 percent from the same period a year ago.