Beijing receives 200 mln tourists this year

Beijing has received a record of 200 million tourists for the year as of Wednesday, according to a local tourism official. The number of all tourists, both domestic and overseas, rose about 15 percent year-on-year, said Lu Yong, head of the Beijing Municipal Tourism Commission. The number of foreign tourists who stayed for at least one night broke the 5-million mark for the first time, posting an annual increase of 6 percent, Lu said. Meanwhile, Beijing earned tourism revenue of 300 billion yuan (47.4 billion U.S. dollars), up 16 percent year-on-year, the official said. Tourist numbers have doubled over the past nine years, he added.