Outbound tourism emerges as main growth driver of consumer market during China's Spring Festival Holiday

China

Outbound tourism emerges as main growth driver of consumer market during China's Spring Festival Holiday

2025-02-13 16:50 Last Updated At：02-14 01:27

Against the backdrop of China's inbound travel boom during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, many Chinese people opted for outbound trips to overseas destinations in pursuit of diversified, cross-cultural experiences for the traditional holiday, making outbound tourism as the main growth driver of the consumer market during the holiday.

During the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, outbound travel bookings saw a 30-percent increase compared to last year, according to a report from travel platform Ctrip.

Popular destinations included Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, the United States and Vietnam.

"During the Spring Festival travel rush, Beijing Capital International Airport handled 7.95 million passenger trips in total, around 200,000 trips and over 1,200 flights daily. With more visa-free destinations, lower travel costs, and new flight routes, more residents from smaller cities are choosing to spend the Chinese New Year abroad," said Feng Liwei, operation manager of the Airport Operation Center at Beijing Capital International Airport.

As Chinese travelers gain more experiences with international trips, their choices have been expanded.

Ctrip's international platform showed that car rental bookings for overseas travel during this year's Spring Festival holiday jumped by 42 percent compared to last year. In addition, bookings for overseas chartered tours saw a 20-percent increase from the previous Spring Festival holiday.

"During this year's Spring Festival holiday, border inspection agencies nationwide handled a total of 14.366 million border entries and exits, marking a 6.3-percent increase compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the number of foreign nationals entering and exiting was 958,000, showing a 22.9-percent increase," said Jiang Shihui, director of the Border Control Management Department of the National Immigration Administration.

The Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, is the most important public holiday in China. The official Spring Festival holiday season this year ran from Jan 28 to Feb 4.

Voting for 2nd phase of Myanmar's general election concludes

Voting for the second phase of Myanmar's multi-party democratic general election concluded on Sunday afternoon.

Voting began at 06:00 local time on Sunday. At 16:00, an election official at a polling station in Yangon's Latha township announced the closure of the polling station.

Following the closure, election staff at the polling station, in the presence of domestic and international media, candidates, and observers, counted the votes, including advance votes, for seats in the Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House), Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House), and State and Region Hluttaws (State and Region Parliaments).

The second phase of the election was held in 100 townships across 12 of the 14 regions and states. In the Yangon region, it was held in 16 townships, including the townships of Latha, Bahan, Kyimyindaing and Kawhmu.

"We welcome the election, which is expected to bring new changes to the country," said a Yangon resident.

"I hope the parties can lead us and make it a better country, which is why I support the election," said another voter.

Myanmar's multi-party democratic general election is being held in three phases, with the first phase held in 102 townships on Dec 28 last year, and the third phase scheduled for Jan 25 this year in 63 townships.

"The parliament is scheduled to convene in March. Following the conclusion of the session, the new government will officially take office in April. We hope that more foreign investment will flow into Myanmar, enabling the public to enjoy the opportunities generated by the country's economic development more fully," said Zaw Min Tun, leader of the Information Team of Myanmar's National Defense and Security Council.

The Union Election Commission (UEC) said that about 5,000 candidates from 57 political parties are competing in the three phases of the election, adding that it plans to set up over 21,000 polling stations across the country for all three phases of the general election.

The election will produce the elected members of the Union Parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw and Amyotha Hluttaw) and State and Region Parliaments; the new Union Parliament will then elect a new president, who will form a new Union Government.