Photo: CFP

Data from China Tourism Academy showed that the number of domestic tourist trips is expected to exceed 6 billion in 2024, with the total number of inbound and outbound tourist trips expected to exceed 260 million.

Last year saw a significant rebound in China's tourism economy, with the number of domestic tourists and income set to more than double year-on-year, recovering to more than 80 percent of that in 2019. The number of inbound and outbound tourists exceeded 190 million, an increase of more than 2.8 times over the previous year, the People's Daily reported on Monday. 

During the eight-day Spring Festival holidays, China's tourism industry is experiencing a record surge. 

According to data provided by Chinese travel platform Qunar to the Global Times on Monday, given that this year's Spring Festival holiday is longer than previous years, many Chinese people chose to first return to their hometown for family reunion and then travel with family and friends after celebrating the Spring Festival on February 10.

Online data revealed that the second day of the Chinese New Year saw a tourism boom with more people choosing to travel after visiting relatives.

Data shows that there is no obvious fall off in travel volume during the 2024 Spring Festival holidays. 

Air ticket bookings for trips from the second day of the Spring Festival holidays to the fourth day increased by 60 percent compared with 2023, with the highest travel volume on the second day. 

The top 10 domestic destinations included Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Judged from the booking numbers of the Qunar platform, the number of tourists in the Spring Festival in 2024 is expected to reach a record high.

The overall prices of air tickets remain within a normal range. For example, passengers can buy air tickets from Beijing to Taiyuan, Dalian and Hefei on February 11-13 for less than 300 yuan ($41.7). There are also flights from Shanghai to Qingdao, Zhengzhou, Dalian, Shijiazhuang and Jinan priced below 300 yuan.

Besides, the travel boom on the second day has pushed up hotel bookings. 

Qunar data shows that hotel bookings in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the first two days of the holidays have increased by more than 50 percent compared with 2023, and new first-tier cities such as Nanjing, Wuhan and Suzhou have also increased by more than 30 percent.

Festival vibes can be found in almost every Chinese city. 

Data showed that on the first two days of the holiday, hotel bookings in first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, which were lukewarm in previous years, increased significantly. 

Moreover, tickets of the Palace Museum and Yonghe Lama Temple in Beijing, Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province and many other scenic spots have been fully booked.

Bookings for Qinhuai River Lantern Festival in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, Yuyuan Garden Lantern Festival in Shanghai, Xi'an City Wall Lantern Festival in Xi'an, Shaanxi and other Chinese New Year lantern festivals have increased by more than 50 percent.

At the same time, outbound travel has jumped during the Spring Festival.

Thailand, Japan and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) ranked top three destinations respectively, according to Qunar. Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, China's Macao SAR, Australia, Indonesia and UAE also are popular destinations. Countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore are now visa-free for Chinese tourists.

Cross-border passenger flow at Zhuhai Hengqin Port in South China's Guangdong Province saw a significant year-on-year increase of 93.8 percent, about 150,000 cross-border trips were recorded at the port in the past three days of the Spring Festival festivals, reflecting a boom of  tourism in the Greater Bay Area.

Direct flights from Shanghai to Jeju Island in South Korea are around 1,300 yuan, direct flights from Kunming to Singapore cost 1,400 yuan, and those from Changsha to Singapore cost 1,750 yuan from second to fourth day of first month of the Year of the Dragon.