China’s tourism spending keeps rising in first half of 2025

Spending on domestic travel by Chinese residents surged by 15.2 percent in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, highlighting strong growth in the country's cultural and tourism consumption.

According to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday, total domestic tourism expenditure reached 3.15 trillion yuan (about 441 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-June period.

The report also showed that 3.285 billion domestic trips were made during the period, representing a 20.6 percent increase compared to the first half of 2024.

Tourist destinations across the country were packed with visitors during holidays in the January-June period. Trips to the chilly north for ice and snow activities, as well as to the warmer southern regions, became popular trends during several holiday seasons.

The growing appeal of flower-viewing tourism gave a vibrant boost to the spring economy. In particular, flower-themed tours stood out across the country, with 32 rural tourism routes helping transform the flower economy from a focus solely on sightseeing into a more diversified industry.

In addition, travel inspired by films, folk traditions, and sports events is gaining popularity. The sports event economy has also begun to emerge as a new driver of growth.

"Domestic tourist trips, tourism consumption, travel radius, duration of stay, and tourist satisfaction have all reached historic highs," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

At the same time, with the visa-free transit policy extended to 55 countries and continued improvements in measures such as instant departure tax refunds, inbound tourism saw unexpected growth in the first half of the year.

Shanghai recorded 4.248 million inbound tourist trips during these six months, marking a year-on-year increase of 38.5 percent.

Among foreign tourists visiting south China's island province of Hainan, 89 percent entered the province visa-free.

China’s tourism spending keeps rising in first half of 2025

China’s tourism spending keeps rising in first half of 2025

China’s tourism spending keeps rising in first half of 2025

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 51-50 to effectively block a bipartisan resolution aimed at curbing President Donald Trump's authority to use military force in Venezuela, after two GOP senators flipped under intense pressure from the White House.

After senators Josh Hawley and Todd Young reversed their position and left the chamber deadlocked 50-50, U.S. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote on a procedural motion, derailing the measure that would have required the president to obtain congressional approval before taking further military action in the oil-rich South American nation.

The resolution was introduced in the wake of a U.S. military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. The U.S. Senate on January 8 voted 52 to 47 to advance the war powers resolution.

Trump had publicly criticized the five Republicans who joined all Democrats to back the bill, saying they "should never be elected to office again."

The president also called each of the five senators to vent his frustration over their votes, said a report from The Hill.

U.S. Senate blocks bid to curb presidential war powers on Venezuela