- China saw nearly 104 million domestic tourist trips in the first four days of the five-day holiday which started May 1. The surge came after a relaxation of travel restrictions amid dwindling COVID-19 cases in the country.
- Authorities have urged the safe and orderly reopening of tourist sites across the country, stressing that efforts should be made to control passenger flows, prevent the gatherings of crowds, implement reservation systems and raise public awareness of epidemic prevention and control.
- The travel increases would help lift the tourism and hospitality sectors that have been hit hard by disruptions from the outbreak of COVID-19.
by Xinhua writers Cheng Lu, Lu Yifang and Kong Xiangxin
BEIJING, May 5 -- As the novel coronavirus epidemic in China becomes more subdued, the country is trying to get tourism back on its feet, with the majority of scenic attractions reopening and a large number of tourists returning to popular sites during the May Day holiday season.
China saw nearly 104 million domestic tourist trips in the first four days of the five-day May Day holiday season which started May 1. And domestic tourism revenue generated during the period totaled 43.23 billion yuan (about 6.12 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The surge comes after a relaxation of travel restrictions amid dwindling COVID-19 cases in the country. One confirmed case arriving from overseas was reported on the Chinese mainland Monday, and there were no new domestically transmitted cases, the National Health Commission said Tuesday.
SURGING TOURIST NUMBERS
In the first three days of the holiday, Beijing's 124 major tourist attractions received over 1.89 million visitors, up 58.5 percent compared with the three-day Qingming Festival holiday in early April.
In Shanghai, a total of 130 main tourist attractions received over 1 million visitors in the first two days of the May Day holiday, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.
Tourists visit the Palace Museum in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2020. (Photo by Chen Zhonghao/Xinhua)
Again in Beijing with the Palace Museum. The museum, also known as the Forbidden City, was partially reopened from Friday after more than three months of closure due to COVID-19. Visitors now need to make reservations online before visits, and the daily number of visitors is limited to 5,000.
According to the museum's online booking system, all 25,000 tickets throughout the five-day holiday were gone within 12 hours since the reopening news was released.
"For the Qingming Festival holiday, I joined a livestreaming tour of the Forbidden City. When I heard that it reopened, I could not wait to get out of my house and see it in person," a tourist surnamed Liu said.
As the nationwide battle against the epidemic has gained major strategic achievements, China has eased curbs on travel and relaxed rules on quarantine.
People from low-risk regions of China are not required to stay quarantined for 14 days upon arriving in Beijing since the city lowered its level of novel coronavirus emergency response from the highest to the second-highest starting April 30.
Search and reservations for Beijing local trips, car rentals and scenic spots tickets during the May Day holiday season have reached a peak since April, according to China's largest online travel agency Trip.com Group.
