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Cross-border travel is an important component of China's service trade. During the Spring Festival this year, inbound tourism experienced relatively rapid growth, and outbound tourism is recovering at an accelerated pace, marking a good start that will provide strong support for the growth of service trade throughout the year.

1. Rapid growth in inbound tourism.

The surge in traditional cultural activities such as dragon and lion dances, lantern festivals, along with the implementation of expanded visa-free policies, has promoted the growth of inbound tourism during this year's Spring Festival. During the Spring Festival period, the number of foreign nationals entering and exiting the country reached millions, an increase of % compared to the same period last year. According to a report from Ctrip, during this year's Spring Festival holiday, ticket orders for inbound tourism increased by % year-on-year, and hotel bookings for inbound tourism rose by over sixty percent.

The number of inbound tourists from neighboring countries and regions to our country is relatively high. Among them, South Korea is the largest source country for inbound tourism during this year's Spring Festival, with a popular short-trip trend among South Korean youth of "going to China after work on Friday." There has also been a significant increase in tourists from Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Since the beginning of this year, the sales of Russian tourism products to China have tripled compared to the same period last year. Tourists from Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, due to cultural proximity, have become an important source of tourists for mainland tourism. For example, in Shenyang's inbound orders, the proportion of tourists from Hong Kong and Taiwan is notably significant.

From the perspective of international tourists' destinations within China, data from the Cultural and Tourism Ministry's Technology Innovation Center for Tourist Behavior Monitoring and Decision Services, built by China Unicom, shows that Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Quanzhou rank in the top three for attracting a large number of international tourists due to their convenient transportation and international services. Major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, along with unique ice and snow tourism, are highly attractive to international tourists. For example, South Korean tourists mainly visit Harbin, Chengdu, and Shanghai; Japanese tourists are particularly interested in China's traditional culture and ice and snow tourism, with Shenyang and Shanghai being their main destinations. The number of American tourists has significantly increased, preferring large cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, as well as ice and snow tourism in Harbin. Russian tourists, due to geographical advantages, often choose the northeastern regions and border cities. Additionally, China's traditional culture, natural landscapes, and popular resorts are attractive to international tourists. For instance, resorts like Sanya's Yalong Bay, Zhuhai's Hengqin Chimelong, and Dali Ancient Town are popular choices for international tourists, especially attracting visitors from Southeast Asia and Europe and America. Guilin's Yangshuo and Nanning in Guangxi, leveraging intangible cultural heritage activities and visa-free policies, attract tourists from Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, with a significant increase in inbound orders during the Spring Festival. Australian and British tourists tend to experience "intangible cultural heritage" activities and natural landscapes, such as the Yunnan Bird Watching Festival and Xinjiang's ice and snow tours.

2. Outbound tourism is accelerating its recovery.

According to data from the China Tourism Academy, during the Spring Festival this year, the total number of outbound trips made by Chinese citizens reached . million, a year-on-year increase of .%. Among these, the number of tourists traveling abroad was . million.

Outbound tourism primarily focuses on neighboring countries and regions. Overall, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia are among the countries with a higher volume of outbound tourism; Tokyo and Hokkaido in Japan have become popular destinations. The Hong Kong and Macau regions of China, as well as European and American countries, are also significant destinations for outbound tourism. Major cities and natural landscapes in the United States and Australia attract independent travelers and those visiting relatives, while travel orders to the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and France have seen relatively more growth.

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other cities are the main forces driving outbound tourism. According to big data from Qunar, Shanghai leads the nation in outbound flight bookings, with a year-on-year increase of %, primarily to Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Residents of first-tier cities like Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen prefer traveling to Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. Qunar's big data also shows that during this year's Spring Festival, the outbound travel demand from residents in county-level and smaller cities has grown significantly, with bookings accounting for over % of the total, more than doubling the year-on-year increase.

The author is a researcher at the Foreign Economic Research Department of the Development Research Center of the State Council

Text/Zhao Fujun

Editor/Sun Nan

Reviewed by Zhang Yumei

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