During the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival, China received 97.9 million domestic tourists and realized 43.5 billion yuan (US$6.34 billion) in travel income, Economic Information Daily reported.
According to data provided by Ctrip, a leading online travel service provider, the number of hotel bookings increased by 300% from a year earlier as most tourists chose to do a short regional trip. High-speed railway has also become the preferred way to travel.
The top ten cities in terms of hotel reservations are: Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Nanjing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Suzhou, and Chongqing. Among them, the order volume of Nanjing hotels has soared by more than 450% from a year earlier.
According to Liang Jianzhang, co-founder and chairman of Ctrip, in the long run, high-speed rail tour will account for one-fifth of the domestic tourism sector and drive 1 to 2 trillion yuan into the tourism economy.
Thanks to the High-Speed Rail!