An increasing number of Chinese tourists are expected to travel overseas and spend a record 55 billion U.S. dollars this year, boosted by an appreciating Chinese currency, the China Tourism Academy (CTA) said here on Tuesday.

In its 2011 report on China's overseas tourism, the CTA said that the number of Chinese citizens traveling overseas and their tourism consumption will climb to new highs this year, securing outbound tourism growth of 13 percent over last year.

Dai Bin, president of the CTA, said the strong growth of Chinese overseas consumption will not only help drive the economy in tourist destinations but also enable China's travel services to enjoy a high profit margin compared to the domestic tourism market.

Dai said that a sound domestic economy and the world's economic recovery, as well as a more convenient visa policy for Chinese tourists visiting foreign countries, will help increase the level of Chinese tourism consumption overseas this year.

The yuan, China's currency, rose to a new high of 6.5401 per U.S. dollar on Monday. In terms of its central parity rate, the yuan has risen more than 1.2 percent against the U.S. dollar this year, making foreign goods and service cheaper overseas for Chinese tourists.

According to CTA statistics, 57.39 million Chinese tourists traveled overseas in 2010, bringing a total of 48 billion U.S. dollars to overseas destinations.