As the demand for tourism boomed, Hubei’s tourism industry saw robust growth in both revenue and the number of visitors in the first half of the year (H1), according to data from the Department of Culture and Tourism of Hubei Province on August 5, 2023.
Hubei recorded a total of 324 million trips made by tourists and grossed 373.581 billion yuan in tourism revenue, hit a new high with an increase of 26.6 percent and 29.3 percent, respectively, from the same period of last year.
Out of total, 223 million trips were made by tourists within the province, accounting for 68.93 percent, while the rest 101 million out-of-provincial trips accounted for 31.07 percent.
Statistics showed that the travel agencies in the province handled 7,186,800 trips in the six months, with a sharp expansion of 300.59 percent, outnumbering the same period of 2019. Among them, more than 4.72 million trips were made by tourists from outside of the province, up 1100.90 percent.
Tourist boom also helped raise the occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in the province. It was estimated that the occupancy rate of the three-star hotels and above in the province reached 49.61 percent in the first half of the year, marking a 10.5-percent growth. As of July, there were 343 star-rated hotels registered in the province, 13 more than the number of 2019. (en.hubei.gov.cn by Ruan Xinqi)