In the first week of the year of dog, Beijing received 2.1 million domestic visitors with the tourism income reaching 1.87 billion yuan, an average of 270 million yuan a day, which has made Beijing the most attractive city across the country.

The number of travelers represents a year-on-year increase of 2.9 per cent and the revenue is a year-on-year growth of 2.2 per cent, according to statistics by 6 pm on Saturday released by Beijing holiday tourism office.

According to the ranking released by Ctrip.com, the largest domestic online service company in the country, among the cities that attract travelers most in China during the 2006 Spring Festival Golden Week, Beijing tops in the nation, surpassing Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Sanya, Harbin and Chengdu.

The residents in Beijing became the main force in the tourism spending spree in Spring Festival. During the festival, residents in Beijing made 1.3 million trips in Beijing area, a year-on-year growth of 11.1 per cent with tourism expenditures reaching 257 million yuan, an increase of 10 per cent year on year.

There was a drop in the number of visitors to Beijing from across the country, totaling 800,000 trips, a decrease of 8 per cent year on year. However, the spending rose. The 800,000 trips brought 1.61 billion yuan of income to Beijing during the past seven days, a growth of 1 per cent year on year.

By People's Daily Online