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| Lunar New Year is one of the longest public holidays in China and is a time for people across the country to travel and visit their families. (Source: EPA-EFE) |
Online travel agency Qunar said international flight bookings during the eight-day holiday were up 14 times compared to the same period last year, taking Chinese tourists to 1,754 cities in 115 countries. Overseas hotel bookings also increased fivefold.
Not only is there a rush of "going abroad", domestic tourism also witnessed impressive growth during this year's holiday, even surpassing the period in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, causing domestic and international flights to be suspended.
According to China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic tourists spent a total of 632.7 billion yuan ($87.7 billion) during the holiday, about 50% more than during the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday. A total of 474 million domestic trips were made across the country, marking a 34.3% increase year-on-year and a 19% increase from 2019. About 6.83 million international trips were made, according to the ministry.
The Lunar New Year is one of the longest public holidays in China and is a time for people across the country to travel and visit family. It is also an ideal time for consumers to spend after a year of tightening their belts.
Ahead of the holiday, authorities hoped the period could provide the necessary impetus for the economic recovery, which has been sluggish following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tourism has become a bright spot for the world's second-largest economy as people flock to travel like "birds out of cages" after three years of being stuck and restricted due to the lockdown to prevent the pandemic.
Neighboring countries such as Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore continue to be popular destinations. China has also recently agreed to visa exemptions with two countries, Thailand and Singapore, making it easier for ordinary passport holders to travel for tourism and business purposes.
According to data from online travel service provider Fliggy, this year Chinese tourists have returned to choose more distant destinations such as New Zealand, Russia, France, the US and Egypt.
The number of overseas transactions via WeChat Pay nearly doubled compared to the same holiday period in 2023, with Southeast Asia remaining the preferred destination for most travelers.
Alipay, a third-party online payment platform founded by Alibaba Group, also said that the number of overseas payments made by users was on par with the same holiday period in 2019 and increased by 140% by 2023.
(according to SCMP)
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