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Some 115,600 tourists visited Sanya sights day before the New Year holidays

That's 62.44% more than the same period last year

© Chen Congcong/Sanya Daily

HAIKOU /China/, January 24. /TASS/. More than 115,600 tourists visited the Sanya resort city in the southern Chinese province of Hainan on January 20 - on the eve of a week-long holiday on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, which is 62.44% more than the same period last year. The Sanya Daily newspaper published this with reference to the Municipal Department of Tourism and Culture.

According to the department, there has also been an overall increase in tourist traffic. More than 114,600 tourists crossed the city's border in both directions on January 20, an increase of 4.89% year-on-year.

The increase of tourist flow is connected not only with the New Year holidays (January 21-27), but with the abolition of anti-COVID restrictions. Since the morning of January 20, Sanya Phoenix International Airport, or Sanya Fenghuang Airport, has been filled with tourists. According to forecasts this airport will welcome more than 500 thousand passengers during the Golden Week.

Hotel businesses in Sanya also show positive dynamics. Hotel occupancy rate, local authorities note, is markedly higher than during the New Year holidays last year. For example, in Haitan Bay hotels are 90% full.

The growth in tourist traffic has already started a week before the Lunar New Year celebrations. About 82,4 thousand people visited Sanya's sights every day over this period, which exceeded last year's figure by 46%. Most tourists came to Sanya from Beijing, southwestern Sichuan province and Shanghai.

Officially the New Year holiday season begans on January 21 and will end on January 27, but the period of mass travel of residents across the country began on January 7. It will last for 40 days. This Chinese New Year's travel rush even coined a special term, Chunyun or Spring Festival. There is a significant increase in the flow of domestic tourism during this period, and Hainan Island is one of the key destinations.

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