Mainland China is now the biggest source of tourists, with a record-breaking 120 million Chinese traveling internationally. This means that one in every 10 travelers came from China, according to a report published by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). 

International tourists from the mainland spent $215 billions in their travels abroad during 2015, a 53 percent increase year-on-year. 

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"The growth of Chinese [tourists] traveling abroad has been extraordinary. A lot of this growth is stimulated by more and more people coming into the middle class," David Scowsill, CEO of WTTC, told CNNMoney. 

Members of households with an annual revenue of $35,000 are the ones who start traveling. At least 61 million households are expected to earn the said amount by 2023, further adding more Chinese tourists to the world. 

The report noted that Chinese tourists now prefer traveling in farther countries such as those in Europe, Oceania, and the United States, showing a big drop of tourists in Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. 

Japan saw a 49 percent revenue increase from tourists last year, the majority of it thanks to Chinese tourists. 

"It's almost taken the Japanese by surprise by how successful they've been," said Scowsill.

Scowsill added that the devaluation of the Japanese Yen and a more lax visa policy attracted the Chinese. 

In a global scale, travel and tourism posted a 3.1 percent growth, making up 9.8 percent of the global GDP. The industry provided 284 million jobs in 2015, a 7.2 million annual increase. 

"Terror attacks, disease outbreaks, currency fluctuations and geopolitical challenges have impacted the sector at a country or regional level, but travel and tourism at the global level continue to produce another robust performance," said Scowsill. 

Tagstourists, China tourists, China Tourism, World Travel and Tourism Council, traveling to China, David Scowsill, Japan-China relations, inward tourism, outward tourism