January 18, 2008 -- The number of tourist visits to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in 2007 passed the number of total residents for the first time, government statistics show.

According to a report by Tianshannet, domestic and foreign tourist made 21.7 million visits to Xinjiang last year, with an estimated total of 20.5 billion yuan (US$2.8 million) in tourism-related income for the province.

Estimates also showed that by the end of Nov. 2007, over 400,000 foreigners visited the province, helping Xinjiang earn US$150 million in foreign exchange, according to a report by Tianshannet.

The province should advance its tourism development efforts, Nuer Baikeli, deputy secretary of the Communist party of China Xinjiang Committee told localmedia during a tourism conference Jan. 9. He also stressed the importance of focusing efforts to improve areas that attract more tourists into the province and spur higher revenues.