BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — This year’s Spring Festival travel rush is poised to set new records for travel numbers, marked by several notable changes, according to China’s transport authorities.
The world’s busiest travel season, driven by the Chinese ritual of family reunions, kicked off on Jan. 14 this year. China is anticipating a record-breaking 9 billion inter-regional trips during this year’s Spring Festival travel rush, with significant shifts, noted Wang Xiuchun, an official with the Ministry of Transport, who joined the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, an all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.
Participants in the 40-day travel season not only include those traveling for family visits, but also a growing number of leisure tourists, Wang said. Additionally, the rise of self drive trips and the expansion of travel modes have changed the transportation mix, Wang added.
Air travel has become an increasingly popular choice during the Spring Festival season, driven by rising demand for higher living standards, according to Shang Kejia, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
The number of flights and passengers are expected to reach new highs this year, Shang said. Daily flights are projected to exceed 18,500, an 8.4 percent increase compared to last year, with passenger trips surpassing 90 million.
Additionally, the diversity of air travel routes has expanded, spurred by new demands, including the rise of “reverse Spring Festival travel,” in which people travel against the flow of typical holiday movement, and the growing tourism boom, Shang explained.
Shang noted that more international tourists are flocking to China, marking a new highlight in this year’s Spring Festival travel rush.
The vast railway network, the backbone of China’s transport system in handling with Spring Festival travel rush, has further improved its coverage and capacity, according to Zhu Wenzhong with the China State Railway Group.
This year, more than 14,000 trains will be on the move each day, with over 10 million seats offered, representing an almost one-third increase in capacity compared to five years ago, Zhu said.
When highlighting new trends for this year’s travel season, Zhu noted that passenger flow toward the northeastern region is increasing, partly driven by the thriving ice and snow economy and the upcoming Asian Winter Games, which will be held in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. ■