China's tourism revenue posts double-digit growth during holiday

BEIJING - China posted a double-digit growth in tourism revenue during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, official data showed Wednesday.

The tourism industry garnered 475 billion yuan (about $75 billion) in revenue, up 12.6 percent from last year's holiday, according to the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

Some 386 million trips by tourists were made, up 12.1 percent from last year's holiday, the CNTA said in a statement.

Guangdong, Sichuan and Hunan received the most tourists among all provincial regions. Nearly half of travelers drove instead of taking public transportation.

Overseas travel remained popular, with Chinese tourists from nearly 200 cities visiting 68 countries and regions during the holiday.

Southeast Asia was the top destination, while long-distance tours to countries including Argentina and Mexico were also popular.

Nearly half of overseas travels were independent tours rather than escorted group tours, the CNTA cited data from online tour operator Ctrip.com as saying.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is traditionally a time for family gatherings in China. In recent years, family travels have become increasingly common that help to drive a tourism boom across the country.

China earned 5.4 trillion yuan from tourism in 2017, an increase of 15.1 percent. The country plans to raise tourism revenue to 7 trillion yuan by 2020 in a bid to develop tourism into a major driver of economic transformation and upgrading.

This year's Lunar New Year holiday runs from Feb 15 to Feb 21.