Sichuan Province raked in 245.8 billion yuan (US$39.6 billion) in tourism revenue in the first half of 2014, up 29.3 percent year on year, the provincial tourism administration reported.

Sichuan received 8.68 million international tourists between January and June, up 15.8 percent year on year. The top four countries of origin for tourist arrivals in Sichuan were the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

The province received 295.8 million tourists in the first six months of 2014, marking a 16.5-percent increase from the same period in 2013. Its domestic tourism revenue reached 243.7 billion yuan (US$39.3 billion), up 29.4 percent year on year.

Based on data provided by provincial telecommunication operators, most Chinese tourists in Sichuan continue to come from the adjacent provinces and the Pearl and Yangtze River deltas. The top five areas for Chinese tourists in Sichuan are as follows: Chongqing (11.6 percent), Guangdong (8.7 percent), Sha’anxi (6.4 percent), Yunnan (5.7 percent) and Jiangsu (5 percent).

A total of 458,300 local residents of Sichuan made outbound trips in the first half of 2014, up 43.8 percent year on year. Their top outbound destinations include Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao, South Korea and Taiwan.