China reports 129.9-percent growth of foreign visitors from January to July

The number of foreign visitors to China surged by 129.9 percent year-on-year to 17.25 million from January to July this year, thanks to a series of measures facilitating the entry of foreigners, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Monday.

The NIA estimated that foreign visitors have boosted consumption by more than 100 billion yuan ($14 billion), with per capita daily average consumption reaching nearly 3,500 yuan.

From January to July, immigration authorities across the country issued about 846,000 port visas to foreign nationals who had urgent reasons to enter China but did not have enough time to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates. That was a 182.9 percent year-on-year increase, according to the NIA.

During the same period, China recorded a total of 341 million cross-border travels, up 62.34 percent from the same period of last year.