Investment in China's tourism industry is rising at more than 12 percent a year and will total 1.9 trillion yuan (US$230 billion) by 2010, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) forecast.

Strong tourism demand has fueled the average annual investment growth rate of 12.2 percent over the last five years, said Wu Wenxue, a senior official with the CNTA.

The figures were released at an event to promote the China Tourism Investment Symposium in Ningbo City, east China's Zhejiang Province, on November 1 and 2.

As China's economy developed and living standards improved, investment in tourism was growing, especially from private enterprises, said Zhu Zhizhen, director of Ningbo Tourism Administration.

The private sector accounted for more than 70 percent of Zhejiang's economy. In the past three years, the private sector had invested more than 20 billion yuan in tourism.

(Xinhua News Agency July 20, 2006)