MKsport capital of China, Oct. 1, 2024. The National Day holiday period, which runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 this year, is a peak travel and tourism season in China. (Photo: Xinhua)" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2024/2024-10-07/4b6a4fac-0f86-4acb-9588-7d031eeb197a.jpeg" />

Tourists take selfies at Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 1, 2024. The National Day holiday period, which runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 this year, is a peak travel and tourism season in China. (Photo: Xinhua)

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China said on Wednesday that Chinese travelers made 5.615 billion domestic trips, up 724 million from a year earlier, marking a year-on-year growth of 14.8 percent, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Urban residents made 4.37 billion trips, a 16.3 percent increase, while rural residents made 1.245 billion trips, a 9.9 percent rise.

In the first quarter, there were 1.419 billion trips, up 16.7 percent year-on-year; the second quarter saw 1.306 billion trips, an 11.8 percent increase; the third quarter saw 1.512 billion trips, up 17.2 percent, and the fourth quarter recorded 1.378 billion trips, up 13.2 percent.

Domestic tourists spent 5.75 trillion yuan ($790 billion) in 2024, up 840 billion yuan from 2023, a 17.1 percent increase. Urban residents contributed 4.93 trillion yuan to total tourist spending, up 18.0 percent, while rural residents spent 830 billion yuan, up 12.2 percent.

As the Spring Festival approaches, the cultural and tourism market is heating up. 

Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of China Spring Tour, told the Global Times on Wednesday that benefiting from the eight-day holidays during the Spring Festival, the booking numbers and revenue indicators on the platform for the 2025 Spring Festival have already surpassed those of the same period last year, with total passenger numbers increasing by nearly 20 percent.

Domestic travel is seeing a year-on-year increase of nearly 20 percent, while outbound travel is growing by nearly 10 percent, Zhou said.

According to data provided by Fliggy to the Global Times, the number of domestic car rental bookings during the Spring Festival travel rush has increased by nearly 40 percent compared to last year. Additionally, the average spending per person on car rentals has risen by approximately 10 percent year-on-year, and the average number of rental days per person has also increased.

China's train ticket booking platform 12306 had sold 214 million tickets for the Spring Festival travel rush as of 9 am on Monday, according to the country's railway operator, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

This year's travel rush also represents China's first chunyun after UNESCO added the Spring Festival to its intangible cultural heritage list in December.

Since January, searches for "intangible cultural heritage" attractions and products on Tongcheng Travel have increased by 87 percent year-on-year, according to a report sent by Tongcheng Travel to the Global Times.