China's civil aviation passenger trips up 11 pct in February

China's civil aviation sector handled nearly 68.31 million passenger trips in February, up 11 percent year on year, official data showed on Friday.

Data released by the Civil Aviation Administration of China showed that domestic air routes handled 61.44 million passenger trips last month, up 10.5 percent from a year earlier, while international air routes handled 6.86 million passenger trips, up 15.6 percent year on year.

In terms of cargo and mail transport, the sector handled 740,000 tonnes in February, an increase of 22.3 percent from the same period last year.

Of the total, domestic air routes transported 408,000 tonnes of cargo and mail, up 21.2 percent year on year, while international air routes handled 332,000 tonnes, up 23.8 percent year on year.

China's cultural and tourism market showed solid growth during the 2026 May Day holiday, with domestic trips and total spending both ahead of last year’s holiday, according to official data released on Thursday.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that 325 million domestic trips were made across the country during the 5 day holiday, representing a 3.6 percent increase from the same period last year.

Tourists spent 185.49 billion yuan (about 27.08 billion U.S. dollars), up 2.9 percent year on year, the ministry said, citing calculations from its data center.

Public cultural institutions across the country organized around 49,400 cultural events during the holiday, attracting approximately 88 million tourists, the ministry noted.

Nighttime cultural tourism in key centers remained robust, with major nighttime tourism destinations receiving more than 80.41 million visits, an increase of 6.44 percent year on year.

During the May Day holiday, around 32,000 commercial performances, excluding performances in entertainment venues, were held nationwide, generating box office revenue of 2.476 billion yuan (about 364 million U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 14.66%.

Trips by foreign nationals to and from China during the holiday rose to nearly 1.26 million, a 12.5 percent increase from a year earlier, with 436,000 travelers arriving visa-free, up 14.7 percent.