(Yicai Global) Nov. 28 -- Overseas tourists traveling to the Chinese mainland will likely spend more than USD130 billion throughout the course of 2019, Xinhua News Agency cited the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as saying.

The world's fourth-most popular destination last year welcomed 141 million tourists from foreign countries, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan in 2018, the ministry said in a report released in Beijing yesterday. The figure was up 1.2 percent, while revenue jumped 3 percent to USD127 billion.

Some 60 percent of the travelers were from other Asian countries and regions, while about 20 percent came from Europe and 10 percent from North America, according to the data. Myanmar, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and the United States were the top five sources of visitors to the Chinese mainland, excluding Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

The report also highlighted that more tourists are opting to organize their own trips, rather than using travel agents. Since 2010, the proportion of inbound tourists welcomed through agencies has continuously declined, falling to less than 15 percent in 2018, according to the report.

Those traveling to the Chinese mainland also find prices reasonable and believe the trip there is cost effective, according to the results of a survey included in the report. Some 42 percent of foreign tourists who have visited the Chinese mainland in the past two years said they plan to come again the following year.

Editor: James Boynton