Holiday hullabaloo

Last year, domestic destinations received 782 million visits during the seven-day National Day holiday and raked in nearly 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) in tourism income.

Tourism players are counting on the holiday to make up for the losses caused by the pandemic and have developed favorable policies to boost consumption.

Xinjiang's Kashgar is offering free access to all of its A-level scenic spots, discounts for its star-rated hotels and incentives for travelers who drive themselves, which will remain in effect until year-end.

Central China's Hubei province and East China's Shandong province have also opened A-level attractions to the public for free.

Jiangsu province's Suzhou recently rolled out 1 yuan tickets for any one of its 14 celebrated gardens.

Alibaba Group's online travel arm, Fliggy, has initiated a 10 million yuan subsidy program to boost the recovery.

The program covers tens of thousands of hotels across the country, as well as transportation, scenic spots and theme parks.

During the second week of September, hotel bookings for the National Day holiday surged by 190 percent over the previous week, according to Fliggy, and air ticket sales increased by 160 percent.