China's tourism will continue to maintain rapid and healthy growth this year, said Liu Kezhi, a senior official with China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), on Thursday.

In the first two months of 2005, China's inbound travelers and international tourism revenue set record highs, with growth rates of 14.8 and 23.6 percent respectively.

During the Spring Festival holiday, domestic tourists reached 69.02 million, and tourism income totaling 31.3 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion), up 9.1 and 8.1 percent respectively.

Outbound tourists in the first two months of the year reached 4.93 million, up 11.63 percent.

The growth will continue throughout the year, Liu said.

China's inbound tourists surpassed 100 million last year for the first time, up 18.96 percent over the previous year. Overnight tourists hit 41.76 million and ranked the fourth in the world, surpassing Italy.

The country's tourism revenue reached US$25.7 billion, ranking the fifth in the world, surpassing Germany and United Kingdom.

The domestic tourism kept a strong momentum. Domestic travelers surpassed 1 billion, with tourism revenue reaching 471.1 billion yuan (US$50 billion) last year.

Liu said tourism has become the most vital industry and has a great potential in service business. In some regions it has become a pillar industry of local economies. The tourism industry is playing an increasingly important role in China's national economy, contributing 5 percent to GDP last year.

(Xinhua News Agency April 15, 2005)