Visitors seen in a scenic spot in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574] 

Ningbo's tourism market showed a better-than-expected performance over the just ended eight-day Spring Festival holiday, which started on Feb 10.

The city, located in East China's Zhejiang province, recorded over 8.3 million trips during the holiday, marking a 97.2 percent year-on-year increase. This figure also represents a 52.41 percent surge compared to the same holiday period in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism-related revenue soared to 9.13 billion yuan ($1.27 billion) during the eight-day period, reflecting a 90.9 percent year-on-year increase and a 45.3 percent growth from the same holiday period in 2019.

The influx of tourists demonstrated a significant shift in their origins, with approximately 6.43 million tourists originating from within Zhejiang, constituting 77.4 percent of the total and representing a 51.3 percent increase year-on-year. The remaining 1.88 million tourists came from outside the province, up by 98 percent year-on-year.

Ningbo's diverse and high-quality tourism offerings played a pivotal part in driving this surge. Throughout the holiday, the city hosted over 1,000 cultural and tourism activities, attracting wide participation from both locals and visitors.

Meanwhile, the city saw a surge in consumption during the holiday, attributed to the distribution of cultural and tourism vouchers. Statistics revealed that over 9.5 million yuan of the 10 million yuan in cultural and tourism vouchers given out by the city have been redeemed, resulting in 50.14 million yuan in consumption.

The city's tourism accommodation industry experienced a notable rebound, with the average rental rate of star-rated hotels far surpassing that of the same period last year. Increased demand for family gatherings, wedding banquets, and other events led to a significant increase in hotel revenue.

Data released by the Ningbo Municipal Bureau of Commerce show that 50 sampled enterprises in the city, including shopping malls, supermarkets, car dealerships, hotels, and restaurants, achieved a total sales revenue of 818 million yuan during the holiday, marking a 2.88 percent increase from the same period last year and an 11.55 percent increase from the corresponding period in 2019.

In terms of specific market segments, the automotive market performed exceptionally well, achieving sales of 58.63 million yuan, marking a 23 percent increase year-on-year. Consumer spending on sports and entertainment products continued to rise, achieving a 17 percent year-on-year growth. The household appliances market also experienced a rebound, with various factors contributing to a 13.4 percent year-on-year uptick in sales.