Tourism industry revived by Chinese Valentine's Day

Qixi Festival, or Chinese Valentine's Day, which fell on Tuesday, turned out to be a boon for the country's tourism and hospitality sectors.

Statistics from online travel agency Ctrip showed people were more eager to travel to mark the festival this year than in 2019, pushing airfares to major cities up by 17 percent year-on-year since the weekend.

"Since people were cooped up at home at the height of the pandemic in China in February and settled for a quiet and uncelebrated Valentine's Day, many couples would not miss the opportunity to celebrate their love during Qixi Festival by arranging a romantic tour," said Gou Zhipeng, chairman of Qunar, another online travel agency.