China
11:18, 02-Jan-2018
The number of domestic tourists reaches 133 million during New Year holiday
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A total of 133 million domestic tourists－an 11.08-percent increase compared with the same period last year－spent 75.5 billion yuan (11.6 billion US dollars), a year-on-year uptick of 11.22 percent, according to data from China’s National Tourism Administration (CNTA) for the three-day New Year holiday that covered Dec. 30, 2017 to Jan. 1, 2018.
At the beginning of the New Year, tourists travel unabated. CNTA notes trips to rural areas, as well as snow and ice-related travel, were in high demand. Hot spring tours and trips to warmer southern areas of China were also preferred. More people chose to travel by car and drive short distances.
In addition to visits to traditional scenic spots, themed holidays such as sports tourism, study tours and industrial sightseeing have become the new trend. On New Year’s Eve, 20,000 visited Yueyang Tower in south China’s Hunan Province.
With the lead of the “toilet revolution”, which aims at improving public services, upheld by President Xi, the parking lot of the Municipal Center of Taian, east China’s Shandong Province, opened more than 1,600 parking spaces for free to satisfy travelers.
Tourism growth puts great pressure on traffic. On Sunday, 8.732 million passengers traveled by train, a 17.3-percent increase year-on-year, according to China Railway Corporation (CRC). CRC had to add 261 temporary trains on Monday to cope with the high demand.
China's tourism industry has seen unprecedented development in recent years due to the sustainable economic growth. By 2020, investment in tourism is expected to grow to 2 trillion yuan (0.3 trillion US dollars), and the sector will contribute more than 12 percent of GDP growth, according to a State Council five-year tourism plan (2016-2020).