Highlights of China's Qingming holiday reveal economic vitality

Tourists pose for a group photo in Eryuan County of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 6, 2024. [Photo by Luo Xincai/Xinhua]

BEIJING -- China saw a boom in the consumer market during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday that concluded on Saturday, marked by bustling tourist attractions and surging consumption.

The following are some of the highlights of the country's holiday data, showing the growing momentum of economic recovery in 2024.

TRAVEL FRENZY

China saw about 119 million domestic tourist trips made during the holiday, up 11.5 percent from the same period in 2019, data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism shows.

Domestic tourism revenue during the period totaled 53.95 billion yuan (about 7.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 12.7 percent from the same period in 2019.

China saw 1.04 million inbound tourist trips and 992,000 outbound tourist trips made during the holiday, which was close to the number of trips made during the same period in 2019. Japan, Thailand and the Republic of Korea were popular destinations for outbound travel.

CONSUMPTION BOOM

During the holiday, China witnessed a remarkable surge in consumption, reflecting the country's robust economic resilience and the people's eagerness to engage in various activities after a period of containment measures.

According to data from Meituan, a leading e-commerce platform, the average daily consumption in the service sector across the nation saw a staggering 39 percent year-on-year increase, a testament to the vibrant consumer sentiment during the holiday period.

The festival has sparked a "museum boom," with a significant uptick in interest in cultural and historical exhibits.

Trip.com, a prominent online travel agency, reported a 74 percent rise in museum ticket orders compared to the previous year. Notably, regions housing popular cultural and historical venues such as Xi'an, Nanjing, Henan and Hunan saw a dramatic increase in scenic spot ticket orders, with year-on-year growth of 278 percent, 457 percent, 641 percent and 1,401 percent, respectively.

This consumption boom is not just limited to cultural pursuits. Chen Xinhua, President of the China Hotel Association, noted that the domestic tourism market during this Qingming holiday has not only recovered but surpassed the levels seen in 2019.