The prolonged cold weather in south China dampened travel during
the Spring Festival.
The number of tourists traveling within and to the country fell
to more than 87.4 million, down 5.2 percent on the same period last
year, official figures have showed.
The figure does not include the millions of Chinese traveling
home for the Chinese New Year.
China's tourism industry reaped 39.3 billion yuan ($5.5 billion)
during the week, 6.2 percent less than last year, according to the
National Tourism Administration.
(China Daily February 15, 2008)