China tourism revenue surges in week-long holiday

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China's tourism industry raked in 423.3 billion yuan (61.7 billion US dollars) in revenue during the Lunar New Year holiday, as more affluent people become increasingly keen to travel.

The volume marked a year-on-year increase of 15.9 percent, according to calculations by the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

Shanghai/Xinhua Photo

During the seven-day holiday, which ends on Thursday, some 344 million visitor trips were made, up 13.8 percent from the same period last year.

Overseas travel gains are increasing in popularity as well. Some 6.15 million Chinese people traveled abroad during the holiday, up 7 percent year-on-year.

The island province of Hainai/CFP Photo

The travel peak fell on January 27, the first day of the seven-day holiday, which saw 50.5 million visitor trips, up 10.4 percent year on year.

During the New Year holiday, hundreds of millions of people go back to their hometowns to meet relatives and old friends, and in recent years, family trips have become increasingly common, which drive an annual tourism boom across the country.

A railway station in Hefei city/CFP PHoto

China's domestic tourism industry earned about 3.9 trillion yuan in 2016, and the country plans to raise tourism revenue to seven trillion yuan by 2020.

The nation will work to develop tourism into a major driver of economic transformation and upgrading. By 2020, investment in tourism is expected to grow to two trillion yuan, and the sector will contribute more than 12 percent of GDP, according to a State Council five-year tourism plan (2016-2020).‍

(Source: Xinhua)

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