China News Service, Beijing, February 19 (Zhang Yuhui) On the 18th, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism released data showing that 474 million domestic tourism trips were made nationwide during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, a year-on-year increase of 34.3%, and a comparable increase of 19.0% from the same period in 2019. Domestic tourists spent a total of 632.687 billion yuan on travel, a year-on-year increase of 47.3%, and a comparable increase of 7.7% from the same period in 2019; there were approximately 6.83 million inbound and outbound trips, including approximately 3.6 million outbound trips and 3.23 million inbound trips.

　　Reservations for scenic spots are in a state of "no rush". Ice and snow tours, island tours, and hot spring tours have become popular. Mutual visa exemption encourages Chinese and foreign tourists to "go in both directions"... In this Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, cultural tourism consumption is very hot.

  Tourists visit Harbin Ice and Snow World. Photo by China News Service reporter Tomita

The cultural tourism market in many places continues to be booming

Scenic spot reservations are in "slow and unavailable" status

　　As the Spring Festival holiday comes to an end, cultural and tourism departments in various places have posted outstanding results, with indicators such as the number of tourists received and ticket revenue from scenic spots continuing to grow.

　　For example, data from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism shows that as of 15:00 on February 16, the 833 A-level tourist attractions included in the statistics in Sichuan Province received 5.376 million tourists and achieved ticket revenue of 62.5318 million yuan. Compared with the same period in 2023, the growth rate was 25.74% and 32.63% respectively; compared with the same period in 2019, the growth rate was 14.61% and 30.86% respectively.

　　According to data from the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, on February 16, 952 cultural and tourism units were monitored by camera big data in the province, and the passenger flow of the monitored units was 1.2381 million, a year-on-year increase of 26.32%. There are 380 museums, libraries and cultural centers included in the monitoring, with 167,400 visitors, a year-on-year increase of 93.42%.

　　During this Spring Festival holiday, people's enthusiasm for cultural and tourism consumption has been ignited, and scenes of "people following the herd" have reappeared in various scenic spots.

　　For example, Hunan Daily reported that many scenic spots across the province are having trouble getting tickets. The Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area in Zhangjiajie has been unable to buy ropeway tickets at noon many times. After the CCTV Spring Festival Gala Changsha branch scene area was opened to the public, the difficulty of making reservations has been "slow." "None" status; Yuelu Mountain and Juzizhou Scenic Areas have repeatedly issued reminders of "no going without reservation". Currently, the reservation system of Hunan Museum shows that the opening hours are fully booked until February 20.

  Sanya Sun Bay Section of Hainan Island Tourist Highway. (Drone photo). Photo by China News Service reporter Luo Yunfei

Tourists "walk towards the warmth"

Ice and snow tours, island tours and hot spring tours have become popular

　　During the Spring Festival holiday, tourists "travel towards the warmth" one after another, and ice and snow tours, island tours, and hot spring tours expand in scale.

　　As a "hot item" in ice and snow tourism this winter, major scenic spots in Harbin continue to be popular during the Spring Festival. According to the Harbin Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, from February 10 to 14, 329,000 people visited the Ice and Snow World, a year-on-year increase of 115%; 33,000 people visited the Sun Island Snow Expo, a year-on-year increase of 286.8%; Yabuli Ski Tourism Vacation There were 84,000 visits to the area, a year-on-year increase of 177.9%, and the number of tourists received by other scenic spots and attractions increased significantly.

　　Tongcheng Travel Report shows that ice and snow tourism has become a popular travel keyword during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday, and Harbin Ice and Snow World, Changchun Ice and Snow New World, and Harbin Polar Park have become popular ice and snow tourist attractions during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday.

　　Island tours are also a popular way of traveling during the Spring Festival. Tongcheng Travel Report shows that island travel is another popular travel theme during the Spring Festival, with Sanya, Xiamen and Beihai being the most popular. Ctrip’s travel report shows that Hainan’s Spring Festival holiday travel orders increased by 56% year-on-year, and ticket orders increased by 88% year-on-year. According to media reports, it is difficult to get a return ticket from Sanya, and the peak time for departures from the island will last until around February 19.

　　In addition, according to previous reports by China News Service, hot spring tourism has become a highlight of Spring Festival tourism. During the Spring Festival, 100,000 people visited hot springs in Xianning, Hubei. The Jiugong Mountain Scenic Area launched a series of activities called "Celebrating the Year of the Dragon Together". Jiayushan Lake Hot Spring and Chongyang Santalangkou Hot Spring were popular among the public.

  Aerial photography of people bathing in hot springs at Shiqian Ancient Hot Spring Scenic Area in Guizhou. Photo by Qu Honglun

Tourists are enthusiastic about going abroad

Mutual visa exemption promotes “two-way travel” for Chinese and foreign tourists

　　As international transport capacity continues to recover, tourists are more enthusiastic about traveling abroad during the Spring Festival holiday, and many popular destinations around the world have launched "Chinese Year Mode."

　　According to Fliggy Travel data, outbound travel bookings during this year’s Spring Festival holiday hit a peak in nearly four years, a nearly 10-fold increase compared to last year. Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, etc. are popular destinations for outbound travel. Destinations such as New Zealand, Russia, France, the United States, and Egypt are growing rapidly, with bookings increasing nearly 15 times year-on-year. Popular destinations for outbound travel are expanding from the "4-hour flight circle" to the "12-hour flight circle".

　　Ctrip travel data shows that with many favorable measures such as unilateral visa exemption for many countries, mutual visa exemption with "Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand", and a series of inbound and outbound travel facilitation measures, Chinese and foreign tourists "rushed in both directions" during the Spring Festival this year, and outbound travel , and inbound travel orders both exceeded the same period in 2019, and inbound travel increased by 48% compared with 2019.

　　Expert analysis shows that the convenience of entry and exit is an important factor affecting the choice of overseas travel destinations. As China insists on promoting high-level opening up, Chinese people have more and more overseas travel destinations to choose from.

　　According to the pre-holiday introduction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the 2024 "Happy Spring Festival" event will hold nearly 500 performances of various forms and rich content in more than 100 countries and regions around the world, and hold "Global Lantern Lighting" in nearly 20 countries. Activities", widely inviting people from all over the world to share the Chinese Festival. (over)