China's outbound tourists rose 15.4 percent to 9.22 million in the first two months year on year, said Shao Qiwei, head of China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

The increasing outbound tourists effectively helped destination countries or regions boost economic recoveries, said Shao at the 2010 Boao International Tourism Forum in Sanya, a tourist resort in south China's Hainan Province.

The increase was made after China's outbound number rose 4 percent year on year to 47.65 million in 2009.

Inbound tourists dropped 4.1 percent last year amid the global economic downturn, but domestic tourists expanded 11.1 percent and domestic tourism revenue rose 16.4 percent, Shao said.

"The overall tourism revenue rose 11.3 percent year on year to 188.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, securing employments for China's 11 million workers in the industry," Shao said.

He said China would work to grow tourism into a strategic pillar sector as the global tourism would face unstable and unpredictable challenges even after the global financial crisis.

The forum attracted about 2,000 participants from more than 50 countries and regions, including leaders from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Under the theme of "transformation of tourism and cultural industries in the aftermath of the global economic crisis," participants would discuss on experiences of each country to cope with the global economic downturn and trends of the global tourism industry.