New destinations

China saw nearly 1.22 billion domestic tourist trips in the first quarter of 2023, up 46.5 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Both Spring Festival and Qingming Festival recorded significant yearly rises in the number of tours.

The number of inbound and outbound flights in popular tourist destinations, such as Hangzhou, Chengdu, Sanya and Dali, rose by 20 percent in March from the same period in 2019, according to travel service provider Qunar. In the first quarter of 2023, hotel bookings in popular tourist cities grew by 60 percent from pre-epidemic levels.

"March is usually an off-season for travel, but this year the tourism market has seen better-than-expected recovery," said Guo Lechun, vice-head of the big data research institute at Qunar.

The market rebound is also reflected by the number of newly founded tourism-related companies in the first three months of this year, which, according to Qichacha, a leading platform offering company information inquiry services, reached 79,900.

The ongoing travel frenzy has created unlikely tourist hot spots.

Zibo, an industrial city in Shandong province, has become one of the most popular tourist spots in China after its iconic barbecue — which wraps grilled meat in crispy pancakes — made waves on social media.

The sudden influx of foodies from across China has reportedly overwhelmed local eateries and prompted local authorities to add trains and temporary bus routes.

Tourists have also swarmed into Jiangmen, a coastal city in the southern province of Guangdong, where the popular Chinese TV series The Knockout was filmed.

According to the local government, the number of trips into the city between January and February surged by about 68 percent year-on-year.

Overseas destinations have also begun to feel the ripple effect of China's fast-recovering tourism market.

Thailand, for instance, saw 269,745 Chinese tourist arrivals in March, a 70 percent increase from February, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand. During the first four days of April, the country welcomed no fewer than 8,000 Chinese tourists per day.

At the Wuhan expo, officials and tourist practitioners from 15 countries and regions, including the United States, France, Germany and Serbia, were promoting their products and seeking cooperation with local partners.

"We are focusing on promoting Serbia as a tourist destination, and developing more business relations with Chinese travel agencies during the expo," said Vladimir Koricanac, managing partner with Serbia Tour Operator.

"China's tourism industry is rebounding now, and I believe it will be renewed in full capacity this year as it was before," he said.

Xinhua