China News Service, Beijing, February 18 (Reporter Xia Bin) "Two-way" cross-border tourism picked up during China's Spring Festival holiday.
As China unilaterally waives visas for many countries, mutually waives visas with Singapore and Malaysia, and launches a series of inbound tourism facilitation measures, data recently released by Ctrip shows that China’s outbound and inbound travel orders during this year’s Spring Festival holiday Both exceeded the same period in 2019, especially inbound tourism, which increased by 48% compared with 2019. This also indicates that starting from the Spring Festival in 2024, outbound tourism and inbound tourism are expected to enter a new channel to accelerate recovery.
Specifically, during the Spring Festival, outbound Ctrip car orders increased by 53% compared with 2019, and overseas scenic spot ticket orders increased by more than 130% compared with 2019. Among them, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and other visa-free countries have seen higher growth in travel orders, with a total increase of more than 30% compared with 2019. Among other short-distance outbound destinations, Hong Kong, China, Macau, Japan, South Korea, etc. all achieved growth compared with 2019.
Medium and long-term outbound travel has also experienced high growth. Orders from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and the Maldives have increased significantly, with an increase of more than 800%, 60%, 40%, and 40% respectively compared with 2019; the United Kingdom, Argentina, Norway, and other distant countries have Orders from transit countries also increased significantly, with increases of over 60%, 40%, and 200% respectively compared with 2019.
In terms of inbound tourism, Ctrip pointed out that during this year’s Spring Festival holiday, ticket orders for inbound tourist attractions increased more than 10 times compared with 2019. The main source countries are Japan, the United States, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Vietnam, Canada, Thailand, and Germany. The effects of China's unilateral visa-free policy are evident. Visitors from new countries such as France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, and Singapore that can enter China without visas have grown significantly. The total number of inbound travel orders during the Spring Festival from the above-mentioned countries has doubled compared with the same period in 2019.
This Spring Festival, Hong Kong and Macao residents traveling north to visit relatives, shop for goods, and travel have become a "landscape". Consumption and life have become more convenient due to the "one-hour living circle" in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The "Observation on "New Ideas" in Consumption during the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon" released by WeChat and Tongcheng Travel on the 18th shows that the number and value of Hong Kong residents' mainland consumption (including online and offline) have increased significantly. The year-on-year increase was nearly five times, the amount exceeded three times, and the number of visits to the Baystone Comprehensive Cross-Border Service Mini Program also increased by 365% month-on-month.
The Spring Festival data report released by Alipay pointed out that during the Spring Festival this year, a large number of tourists from Hong Kong and Macao flocked to nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area to celebrate the New Year, and the amount of money spent in shopping malls increased by 200% year-on-year. At the same time, as foreigners come to China to spend more, their experience of the Chinese New Year has become more in-depth. Alipay data shows that the amount of overseas tourists spending in China during the Spring Festival increased by 500% year-on-year, and the number of merchants dealing with overseas tourists increased by 560% year-on-year. . (over)