On May 5, the reporter learned from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism that according to big data analytics, the province hosted 42.0758 million tourist arrivals during this year's May Day holiday, marking a 4.7 percent increase from the previous year. Additionally, tourism consumption reached 21.148 billion yuan, up 5.09 percent year-on-year.
Within this, Sichuan's 886 A-class tourist attractions included in the provincial statistics recorded a footfall of 27.4474 million tourist visits and ticket revenues amounting to 296.9289 million yuan, showing respective year-on-year increases of 9.5 percent and 3.28 percent. Libraries, cultural centers and museums in the province have received a total of 4.3068 million visits. The cumulative ticket revenue of the province's 5A-class tourist attractions surpassed 100 million yuan for the first time, with major A-class tourist attractions achieving new historical highs in both visitor numbers and ticket revenue.
With the accelerated implementation of inbound tourism facilitation measures, Sichuan witnessed a marked resurgence in inbound tourism. Preliminary statistics show that Chengdu alone welcomed 9,644 visits from overseas travelers during the May Day holiday, marking a 329.6 percent year-on-year surge.
A diverse range of options are presented to meet tourists' travel preferences.
During this year's May Day holiday, Sichuan organized over 1200 events across four domains: cultural performances, public cultural activities, museum exhibitions, and intangible cultural heritage showcases. The province also introduced six exclusive tourist routes, providing a rich selection of travel options to boost tourist enthusiasm.
The A-class tourist attractions across the province showed strong vitality. Jiuzhaigou National Park welcomed 105,600 tourist visits, generating a ticket revenue of 15.4773 million yuan, with respective year-on-year jumps of 24.99 percent and 24 percent. The scenic area also surpassed the 1 million-visitor mark 16 days ahead of last year, witnessing a notable uptick in inbound tourism.
Sichuan's appeal was also evident on various OTA (online travel agency) platforms. Fliggy's data reveals a significant increase in tourism bookings across Sichuan during this May Day holiday, with Chengdu, Mianyang, Leshan, Nanchong, and Aba emerging as top destinations. Chengdu, in particular, secured a position among the top five most popular destinations nationwide. Mafengwo's data highlights Chengdu as the second most popular city during the May Day holiday. Notably, tourist attractions such as the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding and Dujiangyan Panda Valley were ranked among the nation's top destinations for family study tours.
Diverse integration infuses vitality to the cultural and tourism market.
Over the May Day holiday, the province's diverse regions staged innovative and multifaceted cultural performances, seamlessly integrating ancient allure with modern flair and traditional elements with contemporary trends, infusing robust vitality into the holiday cultural and tourism market.
Capitalizing on the hosting of the International Horticultural Exhibition 2024 and the Thomas &Uber Cup badminton competition, Chengdu orchestrated 489 cultural and tourism events, such as "This is Chengdu: Meet its Beautiful Side" street art performances, offering tourists an exquisite artistic feast showcasing the city's charm. Zigong's Chinese Lantern World, in partnership with top Chinese animation IPs, staged an immersive, grand-scale ancient costume drama, captivating over 70,000 visitors. Suining's Shehong City (county-level city) initiated various rural tourism activities, such as free starry-sky camping and rural music concerts in villages like Niuxin and Shuangjiang, attracting a substantial number of tourists.
Leveraging the holiday, Sichuan continued to boost cultural and tourism consumption. Yibin introduced measures like free charging, wine tasting, and noodle consumption, leading to a 16.1 percent year-on-year rise in tourist numbers. Additionally, Mianyang Science and Technology City hosted Space Day of China events. Third-party big data reveals that tourists in Sichuan stayed an average of 1.69 days per person during the May Day holiday, an increase of 0.33 days compared to 2023.
Cultural heritage attractions remain in high demand.
Sichuan's cultural heritage attractions remained in high demand throughout the May Day holiday, with all first-grade museums in the province hitting their visitor capacity thresholds. Among them, the Sanxingdui Museum experienced a remarkable surge in popularity, with all tickets for the five-day holiday period selling out within seconds, placing it fifth in national popularity among cultural and museum sites, as reported by China Central Television.
Other ancient cultural heritage sites, such as the Cuiyun Corridor on the Ancient Shu Roads and the San Su Shrine Museum, have also become hot tourist destinations; the daily tickets for Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area were often sold out early; and the Chengdu Wuhou Shrine Museum and Dufu Thatched Cottage Museums have both set new records in ticket revenue. Sichuan Museum launched the "Water Culture in Tianfu and Jiangdu Cultural Activity Month"; Bazhong's "China-chic Parade" and "Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Show" were crowd-pullers; Da Zhou Museum hosted the "Smart and Brave Big Challenge" event; and Neijiang introduced nine premium study tour routes. All these activities enabled tourists to immerse themselves in traditional culture and revel in the allure of ancient ambiance.
Furthermore, Ziyang City introduced a range of enticing promotions, including the "May Day Combo Ticket" for the Anyue Stone Carving Scenic Area and "You Visit, I Pay" offers. Guangyuan City continued to host the "Explore the Ancient Shu Roads, Win Scenic Area Tickets" event, offering 12,000 tickets to participants who recited "Ode to Hard Roads to Sichuan" or transcribed "Cuiyun Corridor" (two famous Chinese poems themed on ancient Shu roads). Additionally, Jianmen Pass Scenic Area in the city marked a new single-day high in tourist numbers.
