BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- China's dazzling performance in tourism development have strongly propelled travel-related industries in Asia-Pacific region and around the world in recent years, China Daily reported Thursday.

In 2017, the number of inbound travelers staying overnight in China had gone up 2.5 percent compared with 2016, reaching 60.7 million, and Chinese travelers have made 140 million outbound trips in 2018, a 11 million increase from 2017, said the newspaper, citing a report by the China Tourism Academy.

It said that international visitors bound for China accounted for nearly 20 percent of all travelers and 8.4 percent of the tourism revenue generated in the Asia-Pacific region.

China have provided strong support to the development of tourism in other countries in the region. For example, almost 60 percent of the 4.7 billion U.S. dollars Cambodia received in the first nine months of 2018 to develop its tourism came from China.

Based on the statistics, the academy projected that tourism around the world will grow steadily in 2019, with the Asia-Pacific area sees the fastest growth in inbound tourism.

According to the report, China has been powering the world's tourism development since the Belt and Road Initiative was announced in 2013. Booming mobile payment services in China have also contributed to the growth of tourism industry substantially.