People flock to travel like "birds released from cages", this is the economic sector that has recovered the strongest in China

The first National Day holiday since China lifted its Covid-19 lockdown in December 2022 has seen a tourism boom across the country.

Người dân đổ xô đi du lịch như 'chim sổ lồng', đây mới là ngành kinh tế hồi phục mạnh mẽ nhất ở Trung Quốc

Tourists gather at Beijing Railway Station on September 30, the first day of the holiday. (Source: AFP)

This year, the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Friday (September 29), two days before the National Day holiday on October 1, meaning “Golden Week” will last a total of eight days – giving many people more time to travel.

China's waterways carried 1.5 million tourists on October 2, up 114.2 percent year-on-year. China Railway Group said it has launched more than 900 additional services between popular tourist cities to meet demand.

Meanwhile, on October 2 alone, the aviation industry witnessed 1.98 million domestic and international trips, an increase of 221% compared to 2022.

CCTV reported that major roads in many cities and localities, especially those leading to famous destinations, also recorded exceptionally heavy traffic.

China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that during this year's Golden Week alone, the country's tourism industry is expected to reap 782.5 billion yuan (about 107.4 billion USD) from domestic tourism alone.

During the first three days of the holiday, Beijing welcomed 6.8 million tourists, Guangdong Province welcomed about 7.8 million tourists, and duty-free shops in Hainan Island earned 264 million yuan in sales. As of the afternoon of October 1, cinemas had earned more than 1.2 billion yuan, almost equal to the total revenue of last year's holiday.

Ahead of Golden Week, the Chinese government has announced a tourism stimulus plan as part of a broader plan to boost the economy's post-Covid-19 recovery. The plan includes support for domestic tourism as well as measures to attract more international visitors to the world's second-largest economy.

World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) President and CEO Julia Simpson said on September 29 that the recovery and growth of Chinese tourism is truly "amazing". WTTC reports indicate that the Northeast Asian country's tourism and travel industry will contribute 1.48 trillion USD to the national economy by the end of this year, up 150% compared to 2022.

"China is opening up and people are traveling again. The outlook for tourism and travel in this country is very good. I believe China will become the largest tourism market in the world in the next 3-5 years," said Ms. Simpson.

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