China's masses travelled in record numbers during the just-ended Lunar New Year holiday, raising tourism revenue by large margins from last year, state media said yesterday.
During the week-long Spring Festival holiday which ended Friday, 59 million trips were made, an increase of 15.3 percent over the same period last year, said the People's Daily, citing a tally from the National Bureau of Tourism and National Bureau of Statistics.
Tourism earnings reached 25.7 billion yuan (US$3 billion), up 13 percent from last year.
The amount of money spent by tourists, however, remained on par with last year's, with each tourist forking out 433 yuan on average, the report said.
Judging by hotel and motel statistics, most vacationers made day trips to short-distance detinations.
But the figures do not include people who visited scenic places where they could stay with friends or family.
Popular destinations such as Beijing, Shanghai, Harbin, the Yellow Mountain, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Hainan island, Guilin and others attracted a majority of the tourists.
The report did not give a breakdown of the mode of transportation, but most travellers take buses or trains. Domestic airlines reported healthy earnings, with passenger carriers recording a total of 1.38 billion yuan in revenue during the Spring Festival.
Tourist spots are fighting to cash in on the travel fever, offering theme celebrations, such as fireworks displays.
Spending the new year with farmers -- staying in their homes and celebrating with them in traditional fashion -- are among the most popular ways for travellers to spend the holiday, the report said.
Others are drawn to the sunny far south, including the Hainan island as well as Guangdong province's bustling capital Guangzhou.
Adventure seekers meanwhile trekked to Tibet and the Muslim-populated Xinjiang region.
Transport authorities nationwide mobilized all available resources to cope with the estimated 1.82 billion trips over the holiday period, from mid-January to mid-February.
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