Provisional numbers released by the Bureau of Statistics indicate about 60-thousand visitors arrived in the country last month.

This represents an increase of about seven per cent compared to the year earlier.

The biggest increase in visitors was from China representing a 98 per cent increase or 1,651 in May last year to 3,326 last month.

Visitor arrivals also increased from the traditional markets of Australia and New Zealand.

Most of the visitors came for a holiday while others came to visit friends or relatives and business purposes.

Fewer visitors traveled to Fiji from Continental Europe, South Korea, the UK and Japan.