Visitor arrivals from China totaled 688,000 in the first nine months of 2009, up 207 percent from the same period of last year, according to statistics released Wednesday by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The increase was mainly due to an influx of Chinese tourists since July 2008, when Taiwan opened its doors wider to sightseers from China. During the January-September period, Chinese nationals formed the second-largest group of visitors from a single country after Japanese visitors, who totaled 738,000, the statistics show. Those from Hong Kong and Macau comprised the third-largest number at 544,000, followed by Americans at 265,000 and Koreans at 128,000. The total number of visitor arrivals during the period reached more than 3.16 million, an increase of 11.55 percent year-on-year. While the number of those visiting Taiwan for pleasure rose 28.1 percent, those who came on business decreased 14.9 percent. On average, each visitor stayed for 7.27 nights, 0.08 nights less than the year- earlier period. 