(File photo/China News Service)
(ECNS) - A report from the tourism website Ctrip.com estimates that travel numbers during the upcoming Dragon Boat Festival holiday from June 7 to 9 will hit 100 million.
Tourists made 89.1 million trips during the festival period last year, an annual rise of 7.9 percent, with tourism revenue reaching 36.2 billion yuan ($5.6 billion).
Ctrip said more tourists will travel this year due to incentives such as lower ticket prices in some scenic areas, the opening of high-speed trains and more flights, as well as increasing international destinations that waive or issue visas on arrival to Chinese tourists.
The top 20 cities for outbound tourists will be Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Kunming, Changsha, Wuxi, Guiyang, Nanchang, Jinan, Shenyang, Hefei and Zhengzhou.
Data shows the top domestic destinations for group tourists will be Guilin, Beijing, Urumqi, Lijiang, Sanya, Kunming, Guiyang, Zhangjiajie, Lanzhou and Xiamen. The top 10 cities favored by individual tourists are Sanya, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Chengdu, Beijing, Chongqing, Zhuhai, Xi'an and Dalian.
The number of family visits is also expected to increase this year. Online searches for scenic areas suitable for parents and children have risen rapidly in recent days, with the top destinations including Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
The festival, also called Duanwu Festival, is traditionally celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month on Chinese lunar calendar. It commemorates the death of Qu Yuan, a Chu state official and poet who lived during Warring States Period (475-221 BC) before the reunification of China under Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).
