SHANGHAI — The Chinese mainland saw inbound and outbound tourists reach 139 million and 131 million in 2017, up by 0.8 percent and 6.9 percent year-on-year respectively, according to reports released on June 27.

China Tourism Academy (CTA), a think tank under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said in the reports that outbound tourists spent $115.29 billion on their trips, up by 5 percent year-on-year.

In comparison, foreign visitors to China reached 29.1 million, up by 3.6 percent year-on-year, bringing in $69.5 billion of revenue.

The report notes an increasing number of inbound tourists from Belt and Road countries.

China’s outbound tourism market is estimated to increase by 5 percent annually on average in the coming years, bringing the number of outbound tourists to 157 million in 2020, said Dai Bin, CTA president.