First day of National Day holiday generates $15 bn

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Chinese tourist numbers surged 7.54 percent year-on-year on the first day of the week-long National Day holidays to 122 million and generated revenues of 103 billion yuan (15 billion US dollars), official data showed on Monday.

Thanks to favorable policies such as free admission or cheaper tickets for 981 scenic sites, the number of tourists to those places has increased significantly, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on its website on Monday.

Some 145,000 tourists participated in the flag-raising ceremony Monday morning in Beijing's Tian'anmen Square, the website showed. Many onlookers cheered "Happy Birthday!" and "Motherland forever!" for the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

2018 also marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up, and many tourist attractions are featuring decorations with this theme, according to the website.

Meanwhile, the red tourism industry, with an abundant revolutionary heritage, has seen a boom since the first day of the public holidays.

(Cover: Tourists wait for the national flag-raising ceremony to greet the National Day at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, October 1, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Global Times