China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) played host to much more tourists in group as those from the country's interior and Taiwan skyrocketed in November, 2001.

The Latest figures released by the Statistics and Census Services show that the November figure reached an aggregate 166, 400, representing a sharp increase of 54.7 percent on an annual Asiabasis.

The vast majority of the tourist groups were from east.

China's inland became the largest source with 112,700 tourists in group to the SAR, an overwhelming rise of 78.1 percent.

Those from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan stood at 36,700 and 5,700, up 57.7 percent and 24.9 percent, respectively. The number of Japanese tourists, however, fell 16.7 percent year on year at 4,200 in November.

On the other hand, 17,400 Macao residents, out of a population of roughly 440,000, traveled to other places in tour groups in that month, soaring 70.2 percent.

Their favorite destinations include China's inland, Taiwan, and Thailand.

In November, the occupancy rate at Macao's hotels climbed up 4.5 percentage points on a yearly basis to 63.3 percent. Three-star ones recorded best performance.

Statistics show that the number of tourist arrivals in Macao in group went up 2.3 percent to 1.42 million in the first eleven months last year.

( Xinhua News Agency January 11, 2002 )