Inbound tourism surges after UNESCO heritage inscription

Over 14.36 million cross-border trips recorded during Spring Festival holiday

China saw a remarkable surge in inbound tourism during this year's Spring Festival holiday, as the nation celebrated its first Spring Festival after the holiday was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list.

Border inspection authorities across the country recorded more than 14.36 million cross-border trips during the eight-day Spring Festival holiday, which ended on Tuesday, marking a 6.3 percent increase from the previous year, according to statistics released on Wednesday by the National Immigration Administration. A total of 958,000 trips were made by foreigners, up 22.9 percent year-on-year.

Data from travel platforms also reflected this trend, with inbound tourism bookings on Trip.com growing 203 percent year-on-year during the holiday, while domestic flight bookings on Qunar using non-Chinese passports rose by 70 percent.