Photo: Chen Tao/GT

 During the very first "Golden Week" National Day holidays after China lifted pandemic control measures, enthusiasm for overseas travel erupted as a total of 11.81 million entries and exits across the country were processed by border inspection authorities, with an average of 1.48 million per day during the eight-day break.

This represents an approximately 2.9-fold increase compared to the same period last year, and is 85.1 percent of the number from the same period in 2019, according to data released by National Immigration Administration on Saturday. 

Among them, 5.87 million were inbound and 5.9 million outbound. The highest single-day figure was recorded on October 2, exceeding 1.67 million exits and entries. 

Border control inspections also registered 495,000 vehicles passing, including ships, trains and cars, at ports across the country during the holidays, marking a 1.4-time increase compared with the same period last year.

The National Immigration Administration has coordinated efforts nationwide to ensure the smooth customs clearance during the period. Measures included forecasting peak travel times, efficient staffing, increasing inspection lanes, and partnering with Hong Kong and Macao SARs' immigration authorities to manage the surges in passenger flow, so as to ensure safe and orderly border crossings.

A total of 826 million passenger trips were made with the Chinese mainland during the eight-day holidays, a year-on-year increase of 71.3 percent and up 4.1 percent from 2019. Holiday tourism generated 753.43 billion yuan ($104.68 billion) in consumer spending, up 129.5 percent year-on-year and 1.5 percent from 2019, official data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed on Friday.

The bustling scenes seen at each domestic and border port during the Golden Week holidays offered the latest sign of the recovery in consumer spending, a major economic growth driver, and the vast potential of China's steady economy, in stark contrast to the dire predictions made by Western media and politicians, analysts said.

Global Times