The number of tourists coming to China expanded from 63.5 million in 1998 to 97.9 million in 2002. The bulk of these (80.8 million) came from Hong Kong and Macao, whose residents evidently each crossed the border about ten times during the year. Another 3.7 million came from Taiwan. The number of foreigners (i.e. people coming into China from other than Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan) rose from 7.1 million in 1998 to 13.4 million in 2002. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO, not to be confused with the World Trade Organisation), a specialised agency of the United Nations, estimates the number of tourists to have been 36.8 million, falling by 10.3% to 33 million in 2003, mainly as a result of the SARS epidemic. Income from international tourism rose from US$12.6 billion in 1998 to US$20.4 billion in 2002 before sinking to US$17.4 billion in 2003. China remains, however, in the top ten world tourist destinations, ranking 5th in number of tourists and 7th in income from tourism in 2003.

While the gap between the massive luxury hotels in the big cities and the more limited facilities elsewhere, hotel building continues apace. The number of tourist hotels shot up from 5,782 in 1998 to 8,880 by 2002.

Travel within China has become easier in recent years with the lifting of travel controls, massive investment in transport facilities such as roads, railways and airlines, and the rapid rise in incomes. The number of domestic tourists increased from 695 million in 1998 to 878 million in 2002, boosting domestic tourism receipts from Rmb239.1 billion (US$28.9 billion) to Rmb387.8 billion (US$46.9 billion).

Controls on foreign travel are being gradually eased. Rising disposable incomes and constant exposure to foreign countries on television have also contributed to a surge in outward tourism. One indication of this is the increase in the number of travel agencies, from 6,222 in 1998 to 11,552 in 2002, which has accompanied a rise in the number of Chinese tourists going abroad from 3.2 million to 10.1 million in the same period. The proportion of Chinese going abroad for "private purposes" rose steadily during that time from 38.1% to 60.8%. Almost all the growth in travel agencies has so far been in Chinese-owned agencies, which increased from 4,910 to 10,203, while international travel agencies in China have remained at just over 1,300.