Beijing earned 1.87 billion yuan (US$231 million) - more than 260 million yuan a day - in tourism revenue during the seven-day Chinese New Year holiday, the municipality's holiday affairs office reported on Sunday.
About 2.1 million passenger trips were reported during the "Golden Week," from Jan. 29 to Feb. 4, up 2.9 percent year-on-year, according to sources with the Beijing Tourism Administration.
Of that figure, 1.3 million trips were made by Beijing residents, a year-on-year rise of 11.1 percent. The money spent on travel reached 257 million yuan (US$32 million), 10 percent up on last year.
Beijingers also made 34,000 trips to foreign countries, a year-on-year increase of 34 percent. Another 8,000 trips were made to Hong Kong and Macao, 40 percent more than in the same period last year.
The most popular tourist destinations for Beijingers were Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, according to the tourism administration.
During the holiday, Beijing registered 800,000 trips made by tourists from other provinces, 8 percent shy of the total last year. But these trips brought Beijing 1.6 billion yuan (US$199 million) of tourism revenue, 1 percent more than last year.
During the Chinese New Year holiday, Beijing topped the "hottest tourist attractions" list, posted by Ctrip.com International Ltd., a leading online travel agency in China.
(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2006)
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