The Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Thursday allowed the resumption of train tourist tours to boost cross-provincial travel. However, it said that relevant tour operators must be subject to the cross-provincial COVID-19 circuit breaker mechanism.

The decision was made accordingly with the efficient coordination of epidemic prevention and economic development, the ministry said.

In October last year, the authorities tightened epidemic prevention and control measures in the culture and tourism industry due to the sporadic outbreaks of the virus in different cities. The size of travel groups was put under strict control and operation of train tourist tours was suspended as of October 23, said the ministry.

The circular also asked for stringent disinfection of indoor spaces and no place shall be left unchecked.

Although many places have resumed inter-provincial tourism since the beginning of this year, the train tourism business was still suspended.

The train tour business is welcomed in the northwestern region in special seasons, such as July and August. Market watchers said the move of resuming the train tour business is encouraging a further recovery of the industry.

Xinjiang resumed two special trains to tour the Uygur Autonomous Region from north to south on June 28 and 29, and it will launch more special trains and a "New Oriental Express" in July. Xinjiang plans to have 102 tour trains this year, 1.7 times that of last year, according to the local tourism department.

As many places across China have successively announced the resumption of inter-provincial travel, the travel market has rebounded in addition to the support of the policies.

Data from travel platform Qunar on Thursday show that Shanghai is back to the top three destinations for ticket booking and bookings for Shanghai Disneyland and Universal Beijing Resort are among the top three for theme parks across the country.