Travel, consumption give a boost to tourism sector during May Day holiday

Chinese people's stronger travel and consumption desires have boosted tourism to domestic and overseas destinations over the just concluded May Day holiday.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism show that during the five-day break — from Wednesday to Sunday, domestic scenic spots received 295 million visits, up 7.6 percent year-on-year. The number marks a growth of 28.2 percent compared with that in 2019 — the time before the epidemic hit. The holiday lasted five days last year and four days in 2019.

These visits generated a tourism-related revenue of about 166.89 billion yuan ($23.14 billion), a year-on-year rise of 12.7 percent and increasing by 13.5 percent from the same period of 2019.

Domestically, long-distance tours were preferred by the travelers. Some third-tier or rural destinations, including Liuzhou in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Zibo in Shandong province, were overwhelmed by travelers because of the lower costs and delicious cuisines, according to the ministry.

International travel also marked a good recovery thanks to the addition of international flights and more convenient exit and entry policies. According to the ministry, about 1.9 million people departing the Chinese mainland traveled to overseas destinations during the holiday, and the mainland received 1.78 million international visits over the period.