Tourists on Phuket Island, Thailand, enjoy unspoiled scenery. [Photo provided to China Daily]

WUHAN - China's tourism industry contributed greatly to global employment last year, a new report indicated.

The country's tourism sector generated more than a quarter of the jobs in the world's tourism industry in 2015, according to a report released Friday by the Wuhan Branch of China Tourism Academy.

Hu Jing, head of the branch, said that China ranked first globally in the numbers of tourists travelling domestically, outbound tourists, domestic tourism consumption, outbound tourism consumption and employment.

According to the report, the number of China's outbound tourists increased almost tenfold from 2001 to 2015, reaching 128 million last year.

"The tourism boom is a result of a good environment for the industry in China, including favorable policies, the number of days with good air quality and better treatment of garbage," Hu said.

The report has been published annually since 2011.