China now ranks 4th for the number of tourists visiting the US every year. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chinese tourists spent an average of US$7,107 each while visiting the US last year, up 14% from a year ago, a senior official from the country's National Tourism Administration said Tuesday.

Chinese made a total of 1.36 million trips to the US in 2011, with package tourists staying in the country for 11 days on average, chief of the administration Shao Qiwei said at a China-US tourism cooperation conference held in Qingdao, Shandong province.

Chinese tourists to the US increased from 710,000 in 2007 to 1.36 million last year, growing by 17.6% annually during the period, Shao said.

Meanwhile, US tourists to China stayed in the country for 12.6 days on average in 2011, with per capita consumption reaching US$2,348, Shao said.

China and the US are share the same mutual ranking as the fourth-largest tourism destinations, Shao said, predicting that the citizens of both nations will make a total of 5 million trips to each other's countries by 2015. The number stood at 3.5 million last year, according to official data.