According to preliminary statistics from Chongqing Tourism Bureau, in the period of from August 8 to August 24, Chongqing hosted 4,445,000 tourists with total tourism revenue of CNY2.45 billion.

The number of tourists visiting to Chongqing in the seventeen days during the Olympics is equivalent to 70% of that for the whole month of August 2007.

The Chongqing Tourism Bureau said that its Olympics tourism market showed several features which included a large increase in the number of tourists visiting to both outlying ecological scenic areas and suburban rural spots; and tourism expenditure on urban tours and in hotels and the business volume of Sanxia (the Three Gorges)?tours and local travel agencies quickly began to increase.

From the middle of this July through the end of this year, Chongqing is launching a preferential ticket policy for travelers. Meanwhile, Chongqing government is also offering preferential tax policies for local travel agencies, cruise ship enterprises, tourist bus company, A-level attractions, and star-grade hotels.

(chinahospitalitynews.com September 1, 2008)