Foreign visitors to China down 5 pct Jan.-Sept.

BEIJING (Xinhua) - Foreign visitor arrivals in the Chinese mainland totalled 19.36 million in the first nine months of 2013, down five percent year on year, according to new data from the National Tourism Administration.

Foreign visitor arrivals from Asian nations totalled 11.8 million during the period and declined the most on a year-on-year basis, down 5.92 percent, with arrivals from Japan down 23.84 percent.

Arrivals from North and South America totalled 2.32 million, down 2.55 percent. Arrivals from the United States and Canada totalled 1.55 million and 502,300, down 2.53 percent and 4 percent, respectively, the data showed.

Arrivals from Europe and Oceania also dropped 4.45 percent and 5.23 percent, respectively. However, foreign tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom and France rose 2.7 percent and 1.53 percent, respectively.

In contrast with other continents, Africa's outbound tourist arrivals in China rose 3.77 percent and amounted to 400,700 during the same period, the data showed.