On January 26, 15 days before Lunar New Year, China officially entered the "Spring Transport" period, the time when people return home to reunite with their families and "flock" to travel.
According to the country's Ministry of Transport, an estimated 9 billion trips could be made during the peak travel period of "Chunyun" in 2024.
Of those, 7.2 billion trips, about 80% will be made by self-driving cars, and 1.8 billion trips will be made via railways, highways, waterways and civil aviation, China's Ministry of Transport said.
China's railway operator said the country's railways are expected to handle 480 million passenger trips this travel season, with an average of 12 million trips per day, up 37.9% from a year earlier. About 10.6 million train trips are expected to be made on Friday, the first day of the peak travel period.
With record-high migration underway, the 2024 Spring Festival holiday will see not only a staggering number of migrants but also a strong recovery in the tourism market, injecting new momentum into China's economic recovery.
Passengers line up to check in at Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, China.
According to China Railway Beijing Group Co., Ltd., the company expects to handle 39.13 million passenger trips during the Spring Festival travel peak, up 14.1 percent from 2019. On January 12 alone, China's railway system saw a surge in ticket sales, with about 230 million tickets sold, a notable increase from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Haikou International Airport in Hainan, China’s top tourist city, is also gearing up for increased operations. The airport is expected to handle 24,708 flights, up 19.1% year-on-year, according to authorities. These flights are expected to serve 3.63 million passengers, up 17.5% year-on-year.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Chinese airlines plan to add more than 2,500 flights during the 40-day “Chunyun” period, including international travel demand to destinations in Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and other neighboring regions.
In addition to people eagerly returning home to celebrate Tet, the country's tourism industry is also "reviving" strongly as train stations and airports are always bustling with tourists.
According to research from major online travel company Tong Cheng, ice and snow tourism is a top trend in the "billion-people country", with Harbin being the most popular destination for the 2024 Spring Festival holiday.
Data from Chinese travel platforms revealed that as of January 21, the number of travel bookings in Harbin from February 9 to 17 had skyrocketed about seven times compared to the same period last year.
Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, predicts that by 2024, China will have more than 6 billion domestic trips and bring in a huge revenue of more than 844.19 billion USD.
In addition, the Spring Festival holiday has also stimulated the passion for overseas travel of the people of this country. The daily international and regional passenger traffic at Beijing Capital International Airport is estimated at about 35,000, with a total expected passenger volume of 1.413 million. In particular, when the reciprocal visa policy between China and some countries takes effect, the outbound tourism sector of the billion-people country is also ready to enter the peak period.
