China's tourism spending jumps during Dragon Boat Festival

China's tourism industry displayed strong signs of recovery during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday that ended Saturday.

Official data showed a domestic travel record of 106 million trips, representing a 32.3 percent year-on-year growth which exceeded the pre-COVID levels in 2019.

Domestic travel revenue surged 44.5 percent year on year, recovering to 94.9 percent of the 2019 level, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Inbound and outbound tourism have also been boosted by favorable policies, along with the steady recovery of supply chains including civil aviation and hotels. During the festival, China's immigration authorities processed a total of 3.9 million inbound and outbound visits, a jump of about 2.3 times from last year, or 64.6 percent of the 2019 level.

"Domestic as well as inbound and outbound tourism markets have entered a new phase of comprehensive recovery," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

Trendy cultural elements, such as music festivals and eSport hotels, have brought rich tourism options for domestic tourists. Over the holiday, the number of domestic hotel bookings attributed to concerts and music festivals rose more than three-fold year on year, according to data from Tongcheng Travel.

China's evening festivities boomed as high temperatures encourage more options for night recreation, with 243 national-level night-time cultural and tourism consumption hubs welcoming 36.2 million visitors, 38.8 percent more than the previous year, data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed.

Feng Rao, president of the Mafengwo Tourism Research Institute, considers the Dragon Boat Festival holiday as a barometer for the summer tourism market. Feng predicted that the market will usher in a new round of tourism boom and structural recovery.

(CGTN)