The number of outbound travelers from the Chinese mainland reached a record 34.52 million last year, with Hong Kong, Macao and Japan as the three most popular destinations, a report said yesterday.

The figure marks an 11 percent increase on the previous year.

About 9.84 million travelers, or 29 percent of the total, were tourists, according to the report published on the website of the Ministry of Public Security.

Businessmen and people visiting relatives and friends also accounted for a large part of the total.

The top 10 destinations included Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Russia, the United States, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia.

The report also showed that China welcomed some 22.21 million travelers from foreign countries last year, up 9.65 percent from the previous year. Among those, more than 11.33 million were tourists, accounting for 51 percent of the total.

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