Thirty-four million Chinese traveled abroad last year, up 10 percent year-on-year, according to the National Tourism Administration (NTA) on Friday.

China has granted 132 countries and regions approved destination status for Chinese tourists, including 86 countries with approved destination status for Chinese tourist groups.

Granting approved destination status means Chinese tourists have easier access to visas to travel in those countries and regions.

Shao Qiwei, director of the NTA, said granting more countries approved destination status had played a positive role in promoting relations between China and other countries.

China had also enhanced cooperation with international tourism organizations, including the World Tourism Administration (WTO) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), to promote tourism development and exchanges with other countries and regions, Shao said.

China would grant more countries and regions approved destination status this year and conduct exchanges and cooperation with other countries and regions on tourist safety, market management and protection of the rights and interests of tourists, Shao said.

Last year also saw 124 million inbound tourists to China, a rise of 3.4 percent year-on-year. The figure included 22 million foreigners, a rise of 8.5 percent from the previous year, who brought 33.5 billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange, according to the NTA.

Around 1.39 billion domestic journeys were made last year, spending 620 billion yuan (79.48 billion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year rise of 17 percent.

Source: Xinhua