China sees nearly 119 mln domestic tourist trips during Qingming holiday

An aerial drone photo shows tourists visiting Beiwudang scenic area in Shizuishan City, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, April 5, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

China saw about 119 million domestic tourist trips made during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday, ending on Saturday, up 11.5 percent from the same period in 2019, showed data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Domestic tourism revenue during the period totaled 53.95 billion yuan (about 7.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 12.7 percent from the same period in 2019.

Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, is an important occasion for Chinese to honor their ancestors. Many also spend the three-day holiday on leisure travel.

Self-driving, cycling, and trekking became popular modes of travel during the holiday this year, with short-distance and local trips being favored.

China saw 1.04 million inbound tourist trips and 992,000 outbound tourist trips made during the holiday, which were close to the number of trips made during the same period in 2019. Japan, Thailand, and South Korea were popular destinations for outbound travel.