Chinese tourists have left their footprints in 157 countries, and they are discovering and favoring more unknown countries, reported news website huanqiu.com, citing the China Tourism Academy on Tuesday.

The report said Chinese tourists made 140 million outbound trips in 2018, 11 million more than in 2017, representing a 13.5 percent increase year-on-year.

The South Pole, the most far-flung outbound destination that Chinese tourists have reached, is expected to attract 10,000 visits from Chinese travelers during 2018-2019. The report said China has become a "superpower" to Antarctic tourism, as one in five travelers to the Antarctic is Chinese.

Chinese tourists contribute enormously to the global tourism industry, said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

In 2017, Chinese tourists accounted for 10 percent of the international tourists in the global tourism, and spent $100 billion in overseas trips. In 2018, Chinese travelers' spending abroad was estimated to reach $120 billion.

China has remained the largest source of outbound tourists for many years, and that will continue in 2018, said huanqiu.com. It also will serve as the largest source of inbound tourists to Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Russia and the Maldives.

In 2018, Chinese made 5.54 billion domestic trips which generated tourism revenue of 5.99 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year rise of 10.76 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively, the report said.

Dai said tourism-related industries contributed over 10 percent to the 2018 GDP in China, reflecting the power of tourism in the Chinese economy.