Golden relationship: Chinese tourists still in love after 18 years

Tourist attractions diversified

Eighteen years ago most Chinese would travel to the country's most popular destinations such as the Forbidden City in Beijing, or Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. But now the weeklong holiday is seeing more visitors not only travelling to different cities inside the country, but also to foreign destinations, especially the neighboring nations.

According to the report, the number of outbound tourists is expected to hit six million, with South Korea, Thailand and Japan being the most-favored foreign destinations.

For domestic trips, attractions in provinces along the Belt and Road Initiative saw an increase. North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region saw its tourist visits rise by 21.49 percent year on year while tourist spending in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region rose 42 percent year on year.

Popular cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hangzhou, remain the favorite locations.

Meanwhile, more tourists are showing their "new flavors" for travel - to experience more about the local life in different places.

"The local tourism and business environment is playing a more important role to attract visitors," said Dai Bin, head of the China Tourism Academy.

During the past year, Chinese tourism authorities have also taken effective measures to promote the industry. New restrictions have been announced against uncivilized behaviors as part of the country's efforts to promote civilized tourism.

Wu Yan contributed to the story

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