BEIJING - About 61.9 million Chinese traveled overseas in the first half (H1) of this year, up 13 percent from the same period last year.

This growth rate is higher than inbound tourists to China. Some 65.1 million tourists visited China in H1, up 4.5 percent year on year, according to China National Tourism Administration on Saturday.

Investment in tourism has been climbing. About 301.8 billion yuan ($49.48 billion) of investment had been realized in H1, up 28 percent year on year.

Domestic travelers set a new record in consumption at the end of June, posting an increase of 14.5 percent year on year and spending 1.65 trillion yuan.

China saw 2.02 billion domestic travels in the January-June period, up 9.9 percent year on year.