A total of 89.99 million people traveled across China during the National Day vacation, 11.5 percent more than during the corresponding period last year.

More than 34.6 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) was spent during the seven-day vacation from October 1 to 7, with expenditure per capita reaching 384 yuan, according to statistics jointly issued Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics and China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

Sun Gang, CNTA deputy director, said that the economic and social profit achieved during the National Day holiday is "very encouraging."

During the holiday, there was no report of an accident that involved the deaths of more than three tourists, or a single case of severe acute respiratory syndrome or other infectious disease, he said.

According to statistics, there were 24.07 million travelers who stayed in hotels for one night, up 7.6 percent. Airfares brought in 1.65 billion yuan and rail fares 1.06 billion yuan.

The 31 leading tourist cities in the country attracted 36.23 million travelers, with 9.74 million staying overnight.

The 136 main shopping centers in these cities recorded sales up to 2.96 billion yuan, 18.89 percent higher than a year earlier.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2003)