Revenue up, travelers down in first quarter tourism

China's domestic tourism sector witnessed slight growth in revenue in this year's first quarter although the number of travelers decreased, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism said on Monday.

According to the latest figures, the tourism sector made 770 billion yuan ($121 billion) in the first three months, up 4 percent or 30 billion yuan on the same period last year.

However,  the ministry said that the number of travelers decreased. In the first quarter, 830 million trips were made in the domestic market, a fall of 19 percent or 194 million compared to the same period last year.

Travelers living in urban areas made about 620 million trips, a fall of 11.4 percent year-on-year while those in countryside made about 209 million trips, a decrease of 35.3 percent year-on-year, the ministry said.

To support travel agencies experiencing a difficult period due to COVID-19 outbreaks and strict travel control measures, the ministry recently released a notice authorizing reimbursement for 100 percent of travel service deposits, money normally used to refund customers if an agency runs afoul of national tourism standards. 

In February, 2020, the ministry initially authorized reimbursement of 80 percent of travel service deposits to help relieve financial pressure owing to fallout from the epidemic.