China sees robust growth in domestic tourism spending in first quarter

A drone photo taken on Feb. 12, 2024 shows people visiting the Millennium City Park in Kaifeng City, central China's Henan Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China saw 474 million domestic tourist trips during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday that ended on Saturday, up 34.3 percent year on year, according to data released by the country's Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Sunday.

Tourists spent nearly 632.7 billion yuan (about 89.07 billion U.S. dollars) on their domestic holiday trips, a 47.3 percent year-on-year increase, data showed.

According to the ministry, the Chinese mainland saw 3.6 million tourist departures and 3.23 million tourist arrivals during the eight-day holiday, as favorable policies such as mutual visa exemptions have accelerated the recovery of outbound and inbound tourist markets.

During the holiday, 16,300 commercial performances were held across the country, raking in 778 million yuan, up 52.1 percent and 80.09 percent year on year, respectively. The performances attracted more than 6.57 million audiences, a year-on-year increase of 77.71 percent, according to the ministry.