Shanghai sees robust tourism consumption during Spring Festival holiday

SHANGHAI - Shanghai saw robust tourism consumption during the Spring Festival holiday, the latest figures show.

According to China UMS, more than 6.6 billion yuan (around 980 million US dollars) was spent by tourists to Shanghai during the week-long holiday ending Sunday, accounting for 37.3 percent of the total consumption in the city.

Over 40 percent of spendings were made by tourists from neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.

During the holiday, outbound tourists from Shanghai spent more than 11.1 billion yuan on domestic travel, heading to places such as Suzhou, Hangzhou and Nanjing, according to China UMS.

Meanwhile, a report jointly released by the China Tourism Academy and China UMS showed that traveling during the Spring Festival holiday has become a new custom. The per capita tourism consumption in Shanghai during the holiday ranked first in the country.

According to a sampling survey of 380 retail and catering enterprises conducted by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, their sales rose 8.1 percent year on year during the holiday, signifying robust consumption.

The Spring Festival, Chinese Lunar New Year, is traditionally a time for family gatherings in China. It fell on Feb 5 this year.