Tourism features among growth drivers in China

BEIJING - China's tourism is showing strong growth and emerging as a new driving force for the world's second-largest economy.

China's domestic tourism industry earned 4.57 trillion yuan ($720 billion) with 5 billion domestic trips made in 2017, up 15.9 percent and 12.8 percent, respectively, data from the China National Tourism Administration or CNTA showed.

The industry contributed 9.13 trillion yuan to China's GDP, accounting for 11 percent of economic output, according to preliminary statistics.