East China Province Sees Booming Tourism

With more than 77 million tourists from at home and abroard, east China's Shandong Province last year reported a record high 41.265 billion yuan (about US$5 billion) in tourist income, according to Li Deming, head of Shandong Tourist Bureau.

Compared with 1999, the income from Shandong's tourism industry surged 34.33 percent in 2000 to account for 4.85 percent of its annual GDP, Li said.

Last year, Shandong attracted over 720,000 overseas tourists, earning US$315 million in foreign exchanges, an increase of 18.82 percent over 1999.

With more and more tourist sites to be developed, Shandong's tourism is gaining momentum and will grow into one of the key industries in the province. Enditem

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