BEIJING - China's investment in tourism projects surged by over 30 percent year on year in the first half of 2016, official data showed on Wednesday.

A total of 9,944 tourism projects were under development in the first six months of this year, with actual investment reaching over 421 billion yuan ($62.97 billion), up 30.5 percent year on year, according to data from the the China National Tourism Administration (NTA).

The first six months saw 206 large tourism projects being developed with actual investment over 79 billion yuan, up 34.4 percent year on year.

Private investment in Chinese tourism projects rose by nearly 30 percent year on year in H1, and investment in west China by more than 55 percent, the NTA data showed.

The data will encourage Chinese officials who hope tourism can form a strong engine to bolster economic growth. It contributed over 10 percent of total Chinese GDP growth last year.