Over 1 million Malaysian tourists visit China in 2007

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 (Xinhua) -- In 2007, 1.062 million Malaysian tourists visited China, amounting to a 16.7 percent increase on a year-on-year basis, Vice Chairman of China National Tourism Administration Zhang Xiqin said here on Thursday.

Meanwhile, 678,800 Chinese tourists visited Malaysia in 2007, a substantial increase over 2006, Zhang added.

He made the remarks when he addressed a tourism promotional activity, entitled "Briefing of 2008, See you in China".

"At the beginning of this year, some regions of China suffered unprecedented snow disasters, which had inevitably impacted local tourism industry," Zhang said, adding that at present, the local tourism reception and service facilities were normal.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization estimated that China, by 2015, will become the first tourist destination and the 4th largest source market.