Xiamen has received 552,300 international overnight tourists from January to July this year, up by 11.95 percent compared to last year.
Visits from Asia numbered 315,000, making up 57.04 percent of the international overnight tourist number, 11.04 percent higher than the same period last year; 112,700 of the visits were from Europe, contributing 20.41 percent and up by 6 percent; 96,200 were from America, contributing 17.41 percent and up by 27.31 percent; 21,000 were from Oceania, contributing 3.8 percent and up by 1.17 percent; and 7,400 were from Africa, contributing 1.34 percent and up by 5.25 percent.
The top 10 tourist source countries for tourists visiting Xiamen are as follows: Japan, the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Germany, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia and the UK, with respective tourist numbers of 83,700, 72,800, 51,700, 51,600, 44,200, 22,900, 18,800, 18,200, 17,000 and 14,700. Overnight tourists from these 10 countries totaled 395,600, making up 71.63 percent of the international overnight tourist number for the first seven months of this year.
Among the top five countries with the highest growth rates in tourist visits to Xiamen, South Korea was up 46.55 percent, the Philippines was up 39.51 percent, the United States was up 28.76 percent, Germany was up 19.44 percent, and Indonesia was up 18.11 percent.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
