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14 April 2011 13:59
China has overtaken Spain to become the world's third largest tourist destination, figures have said
The UN has ranked China as the third most popular tourist destination.
The country has overtaken Spain to take up the third position, according to figures released by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
Last year, the number of foreign tourists in China reached 55.7 million, up from 9.4% in 2009.
Meanwhile Spain, which is still recovering from the economic crisis, had a 1% increase to 52.2 million.
According to the UNWTO, the United States held on to the top spot with 78.95 million arrivals, followed by France which had 60.88 million visitors.
Travellers must ensure they have a cost-effective travel insurance policy before heading to these top destinations.
Although Spain did not make it to the top spot on the tourism numbers list it boasted a larger volume of high-spenders, who forked out $52.5 billion (£32.21billion) in the country.
The US held the top position, while France came third and China ranked fourth, getting $45.8 billion (£28.13 billion).
The number of Chinese travelling abroad was more than the foreign visitors to the country.
The number of outbound Chinese travellers rose 20% over 2009 reaching 57.39 million last year. Chinese tourists ranked fourth-largest worldwide last year.
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