China sees domestic, cross-border travel surge in 2024

BEIJING -- China recorded a total of 5.615 billion domestic travel trips in 2024, marking a 14.8-percent increase from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday.

Domestic travelers spent over 5.75 trillion yuan (about $790 billion) during the year, up by 17.1 percent from 2023, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, lower-tier regions with airports have become increasingly popular among Chinese travelers, said Lu Wei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.

With improved infrastructure making various regions and lesser-known destinations more accessible, the shift toward off-the-beaten-path travel has gained momentum, drawing travelers in search of niche experiences.

Beyond the hustle and bustle of the domestic travel market, international travel also flourished last year, with a boom in both inbound and outbound tourism.

China continued to ease its visa policies in 2024 to boost openness and people-to-people exchanges, allowing more foreign travelers and businesspeople to visit the country visa-free.

The latest data proves that the relaxation of its visa policies has delivered visible results. The National Immigration Administration (NIA) said earlier this month that cross-border trips made by foreigners surged 82.9 percent from a year ago to 64.88 million in 2024.

More than 20 million inbound foreign trips were made visa-free, a year-on-year increase of 112.3 percent, according to the NIA.