BEIJING, Sept. 23 -- Visits to forest park in China are expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2018 thanks to booming tourism, said an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA).

During 2011-2015, annual visits to forest park grew at an annual rate of 15.5 percent to hit 4.6 billion, Zhang Jianmin, deputy head of the tourism administration of the NFGA, told a press conference over the weekend.

The year 2017 witnessed 1.39 billion forest visits, accounting for 28 percent of the country's total domestic tourism trips, valued at 1.15 trillion yuan of social output.

Noting problems facing forest tourism such as unbalanced and inadequate development, Zhang said efforts should be made to increase the supply of tourism products and promote sustainable development.