A bullet train pulls out of the Congjiang Railway Station in Congjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, Feb. 23, 2021. (Photo/Xinhua)

An estimated 1.72 billion domestic trips will made in China in the first half of 2021, contributing a total of 1.28 trillion yuan ($196 billion) in revenue, according to a report released by the China Tourism Academy on Friday. The indicators show a dramatic year-on-year increase of 85 percent and 102 percent, respectively.

According to the report, the first quarter of 2021 saw 697 million domestic trips made in China, a year-on-year increase of 136 percent, which generated revenue of 560 billion yuan ($85.9 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 150 percent.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the tourism industry hard due to travel restrictions as well as a slump in demand among travelers. However, compared with the same period last year and Q4 of 2020, the tourism industry in China has begun to recover rapidly as the country has been taking efficient measures against the coronavirus.

Statistics from the report indicate that despite the pandemic, tourism has already picked up its pace of recovery. A major trend of China’s tourism market is that independent travel and short-distance tours are expanding, and trips made to museums and historic and cultural sites surged in the first quarter.

Photo taken on Jan. 27, 2021 shows bullet trains at a maintenance base in Guiyang, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Photo/Xinhua)

Dai Bin, director of China Tourism Academy, said that the restoration of consumer confidence is the primary factor boosting recovery in the tourism sector. As the Chinese government plans to increase investment in tourism infrastructure and public services, experts have a positive forecast for Chinese tourism in the post-pandemic world.

Source: People's Daily app
Editor: Lv Yun