China records more tourist visits, spending as holiday kicks off

World Today

A family takes a selfie from an overlook with a view of the Forbidden City at a park in Beijing, Monday, Oct. 3, 2016. Saturday was China’s National Day holiday, the start of a weeklong holiday period during which millions of Chinese travel and visit tourist sites. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China saw a marked increase in tourist visits and spending as millions of Chinese went on a traveling spree for the National Day holiday, also known as the “Golden Week”, latest official data showed.

Altogether 104 million people visited tourist attractions around the country on Sunday, the second day of the holiday week, up 12.5 percent year on year, according to figures released by China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

A souvenir vendor waits for customers near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016. Saturday is China's National Day, the start of a weeklong holiday that is a popular time for Chinese to travel and visit tourist sites. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)

A souvenir vendor waits for customers near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016. Saturday is China’s National Day, the start of a weeklong holiday that is a popular time for Chinese to travel and visit tourist sites. (AP Photo/Nomaan Merchant)

Nationwide tourist spending rose 16.1 percent year on year to 84.5 billion yuan (12.7 billion U.S. dollars) on Sunday alone, the CNTA said.

The tourism surge followed a record high in railway travels recorded on Saturday, the first day of the holiday. Railways carried 14.4 million passengers on Saturday, up 15 percent year on year, according to China Railway Corporation.

China is expected to ring up 478 billion yuan ($22 billion) of tourism income during the holiday week, a 13.5 percent increase year on year, according to a survey by China Tourism Academy and Ctrip, an online travel agent.

Story by Xinhua News