Foreign tourists have accounted for a relatively large share of Hangzhou steadily growing tourism market, which has maintained double-digit growth in the last two years.
In 2005, 1.02 million foreign tourists came to Hangzhou, while the figure grew to 1.24 million in 2006. By the end of November of this year, Hangzhou had welcomed 1.34 million foreign tourists.
The number of tourists from Europe, North America and Australia has increased significantly. In 2006, the tourist count increased 45.9, 26.2 and 66.4 percent respectively. This upward trend is expected to last this year as well.
Statistics indicate that from January to November of 2007, Hangzhou accommodated 221,900 European travelers, an increase of 22.9 percent, along with 159,000 American and 37,300 Australian travelers.
The Asia market serves as the pillar of Hangzhou's tourism sector. Among Asian countries, South Korea and Japan have topped the list in terms of numbers for several years. From January to November this year, 390,500 tourists from South Korea visited the city, a 15.8-percent rise year-on-year, while Japanese travelers numbered 256,000, an increase of 16.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
Tourists from South Korea and Japan combined account for nearly 72.9 percent of the Asian tourists coming to Hangzhou, and 33.7 percent of foreign tourists.
The top 10 countries in terms of tourist inflow to Hangzhou in 2007 are South Korea, Japan, the United States, Malaysia, Thailand, Germany, Singapore, Spain, Australia and Canada.
Questions
1. In 2007 how many foreigners visited the Chinese city of Hangzhou?
2. Which Asian country has the greatest number of visitors coming to Hangzhou?
3. Which non Asian country has the highest number of visitors coming to Hangzhou?
Answers:
1.1.34 million foreign tourists.
2.South Korea.
3.The United States.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Brendan is an Australian who has been involved in education and writing for over a decade. He has published most recently for the Tiger Airways Inflight magazine, The Bangkok Post, The Taipei Times and Japan's Hiroshima Outside Magazine. He holds a Masters Degree in Community Development and Management and has resided in China for over 3 years.
