According to statistics released by the National Tourism Administration and the National Bureau of Statistics, the country hosted 59.47 million tourists during the holiday, up 15.3 percent from the same period last year.

Total tourism income in the seven-day holidays reached 25.76 billion yuan (US$3.13 billion), an annual increase of 13 percent, revealed the figures, which covered 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The income includes takings from the country's tourism cities and scenic spots, as well as passenger transport income from civil aviation and railway travel.

The most popular domestic destinations during Spring Festival were South China's Hainan Province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, as well as Northeast China's Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces.

Consumption expenditure per tourist reached 433.2 yuan (US$52.3), reported statistics.

Tourism products during the holidays were diverse, popular offerings including folk culture goods and winter accessories.

The main theme of 2003, "cuisine travel," also provided a good experience, said Wang Jun, a senior official with the National Tourism Administration.

A high number of Chinese nationals also opted to travel abroad, with Viet Nam, Thailand, the Republic of Korea and Australia proving holiday hotspots, noted Wang.

In Beijing, a total of 25,930 people travelled overseas during Spring Festival through the city's 41 travel agencies. The figure is 14 percent higher than that of last year.

Industry insiders said financially well-off tourists preferred to travel abroad during the week-long holidays, largely due to the overcrowding experienced at many of China's major scenic spots.

(China Daily February 10, 2003)