Beijing sees fewer tourists in holiday week

The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors.[Photo/Xinhua]

Beijing welcomed around 11.2 million tourists during the week-long National Day holiday, down 2.8 percent from the same period last year, the local tourism authority said Friday.

Despite the decline in arrivals, the Chinese capital rang up 8.4 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) in tourism income during the holiday, known as "Golden Week," up 1.1 percent year-on-year, according to Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development.

Among the trips, 2.76 million were made by domestic visitors, down 1.1 percent from last year's National Day holiday. Their per capita spending, however, averaged 2,485 yuan, up 3.2 percent year-on-year.

The city's traditional tourist destinations, such as historical sites and parks, saw fewer visitors, while suburban trips totalled more than 4.3 million, up 9.3 percent year-on-year.

Nationwide, around 478.18 billion yuan in tourism income was posted for the holiday week, a 13.5 percent increase year-on-year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, an online travel agent. The country's major tourist destinations are expected to have received 589 million visitors during the holiday, up 12 percent from last year, said the survey.