Beijing ports see surge in travel during Spring Festival holiday

Beijing ports recorded 566,000 inbound and outbound trips during the just-concluded Spring Festival holiday from Feb 15 to Monday, up 11 percent year-on-year, according to the Beijing General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection. Passenger traffic peaked on Feb 22, when more than 73,000 crossings were recorded.

With the rollout of a series of measures to facilitate travel to China, including visa-free policies for ordinary passport holders from countries such as Canada and the United Kingdom during this year's Spring Festival, arrivals were further boosted, making it easier for tourists and business travelers to enter the country.

During the holiday, Beijing ports handled 101,000 inbound and outbound trips by foreign nationals, a year-on-year increase of 42.3 percent. Of those, more than 30,000 entered China under visa-free or temporary entry permit policies, double the figure recorded in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, outbound travel demand among mainland residents remained strong. More than 437,000 mainland travelers passed through Beijing ports during the holiday, with nearby destinations such as South Korea, Thailand, and Singapore continuing to rank among the most popular choices.