Beijing sees strong tourism rebound during May Day holiday

BEIJING, May 5 (Xinhua) -- Beijing has seen a robust recovery in tourism as it received more than 8.4 million tourists during the five-day May Day holiday that ended Wednesday, local authorities said.

The figure marks an 81.9-percent surge over the same period last year and is 98.4 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

The Chinese capital's tourism sector raked in around 9.3 billion yuan (about 1.44 billion U.S. dollars) during the holiday, an increase of 120 percent year on year and approximately 86 percent of the figure in 2019, the bureau said.

The city's most popular tourist attractions during the holiday were Wangfujing, Nanluoguxiang Lane and Shicha Lake, which received about 1.6 million, 1.1 million and 917,000 visits, respectively.

Beijing's tourism rebound came as the COVID-19 situation continues to improve across China and nationwide mass vaccination drive gains steam.