The Qingming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, brought about a significant surge in travel and consumption across the Chinese mainland during its recent three-day holiday, which concluded on Saturday. This important occasion not only serves as a time for honoring ancestors but also offers many Chinese residents an opportunity for leisure travel.
According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, approximately 119 million domestic passenger trips were made during the holiday period, marking an 11.5% increase compared to the same timeframe in 2019. Additionally, domestic revenue reached 53.95 billion yuan (around $7.6 billion), reflecting a 12.7% rise from 2019.
Inbound and outbound tourism also saw remarkable growth, with 1.04 million inbound trips to the Chinese mainland and 992,000 trips heading overseas. Many residents from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, as well as overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, took the opportunity to return to their hometowns, visit relatives and friends, and explore new sightseeing destinations.
Popular domestic destinations included major cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Kunming, according to data from the travel platform LY.com. On the international front, Thailand, Japan, and the Maldives emerged as the top three preferred overseas tourist destinations, as reported by the travel portal Tuniu.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
