While 2008 is expected to be the biggest year ever for tourism in China, the numbers of tourists visiting the country will continue to grow even after the Summer Olympics in Beijing are over.

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, China's travel and tourism industry is expected to grow by 9.6% per annum, in real terms, between 2008 and 2017.

More than 120 million tourists visited China in 2006. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, that number is expected to grow by 13.3% for 2007. The number of US tourists to China was just over 1.7 million in 2006, but is expected to be larger for 2007 and beyond.