Travel industry posts solid recovery during Spring Festival

Data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed that the domestic tourism market saw 474 million trips during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, up 34.3 percent year-on-year and a 19.0 percent increase compared with the same holiday period in 2019, ThePaper reported on Tuesday.

Domestic tourism-related revenues reached 632.69 billion yuan ($94.9 billion) during the holiday, an increase of 47.3 percent year-on-year and up by 7.7 percent from the same holiday period in 2019.

Among the 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions that disclosed Spring Festival-related tourism data, 17 of them reported tourism revenue exceeding 10 billion yuan, according to ThePaper's initial statistics.

Guangdong province stood out as the leading performer in both tourist arrivals and revenue. It welcomed 76.07 million tourism trips and earned 69.36 billion yuan in tourism revenue.

Sichuan province ranked second with 60.48 million tourism trips, followed by Jiangsu province with 55.48 million tourism trips. Henan province ranked fourth with the tourism trips exceeding 50 million.

In terms of revenue, Yunnan province came second with 63.74 billion yuan. Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Jiangsu province, Zhejiang province and Liaoning province all recorded tourism revenue exceeding 40 billion yuan.

Regarding growth rate, among those 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, 24 reported an increase in tourist arrivals compared to the same period last year. Fifteen regions posted a raise in tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2019.

The enthusiasm for travel during this year's May Day holiday may see a surge, with some travelers booking tickets for the National Day holiday in October in advance.

As of March 5, there has been a more than 50 percent year-on-year increase in users showing early interest in booking travel tickets for the May Day holiday this year, according to Tongcheng Travel, a travel agency based in Jiangsu province.

Hotels in cities such as Chongqing, Changsha, Xi'an, Nanjing, Nanchang, Wuhan, Tianjin, Beijing, Hangzhou, and Qingdao are in high demand for the May Day holiday.

Travelers have booked flights for the National Day holiday seven months in advance, according to Qunar, a Beijing-based online travel agency. Routes include Shanghai to Beijing, Guangzhou to Beijing, and Shenzhen to Chengdu.

Tourism industry experts said the remarkable recovery of the tourism market during this year's Spring Festival has further boosted confidence in the industry, ThePaper reported.

Peng Han, chief analyst at Travel Daily, said this year's Spring Festival tourism market has exceeded pre-pandemic levels in terms of both domestic tourist numbers and tourism revenue.

The steady recovery since 2023 indicates sustained growth in tourism, offering significant potential in the market, Peng said.

The thriving tourism market suggests an increasing role of service-oriented consumption in China's economy, becoming a key economic driver in 2024, he added.