Festival travel surges

Click for more news in Biz China

Top tourism spots saw 15-percent growth in visitors and income over the Spring Festival compared with last year. China's tourism department announced the bump after monitoring 19 sites across the country during the week-long holiday.











Touriststakephotosinfrontofredlanternsthatpileup
astheheadofanoxattheNationalStadium,orBird'sNest,
onThursday,January29,2009.(XinhuaPhoto)

Beijing welcomed 3.2 million visitors over the break, up 20 percent year-on-year, as tourism income hit 2.1 billion yuan, up by one-third. Tours featuring northern China's ice and snow were popular this year, along with warmer travel to southern China. Beijing, Hong Kong and Sanya topped the list of most popular destinations. The tourism department also revealed that 13-thousand mainland residents traveled to Taiwan over the Lunar New Year.