THE number of foreign visitors to China soared 129.9% year on year to 17.25 million in the first seven months of this year thanks to a series of measures facilitating the entry of foreigners, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said yesterday.

The foreign visitors are estimated to boost consumption topping 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) in total, with a per capita daily average consumption volume of nearly 3,500 yuan, said Liu Haitao, NIA deputy head, at a press conference.

During the period, 846,000 port visas were issued to foreign nationals who have urgent needs to enter China but do not have enough time to apply for visas at Chinese embassies or consulates abroad, Liu said. The figure rose 183% year on year.

Regarding port visas, the NIA said foreign nationals can submit applications in advance to the port visa authorities by themselves or through inviting parties, or apply on site upon arrival at ports in China.

From January to July, China recorded a total of 341 million cross-border travels, up 62.34% from the same period of last year, Liu added.

(Xinhua)