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Travel demand in Zhejiang province recovered significantly during this year's Spring Festival, one of the longest vacations that people use for travel. The number of tourists during the holiday period surpassed that of 2019, the year before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a local tourism watchdog report.

The number of tourists received in Zhejiang during the 2023 Spring Festival from Jan 21 to 27 hit historic highs following the implementation of various promotional campaigns and the introduction of preferential policies.

Zhejiang received 25.31 million tourists during this year's Spring Festival, a year-on-year increase of 43 percent, according to the 2023 Spring Festival Holiday Tourism Situation Analysis Report released on Saturday by the provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

The province's tourism revenue reached 32.95 billion yuan ($4.88 billion), a year-on-year increase of 36.1 percent. The average per capita spending of tourists during the weeklong holiday was 1,302 yuan, the report said.

More than 400 scenic spots in the province offered free admission to visitors, and more than 500 million yuan of vouchers for stimulating consumption were issued.

Tourist numbers at many attractions reached their peak. The top five most popular scenic spots in the province are Hengdian World Studios, the world's largest film and TV base; Nanxi River Scenic Area in Yongjia, Taizhou Fucheng Cultural Tourism Area; Zhoushan's Putuo Mountain Scenic Area; and Tongxiang's Wuzhen Scenic Area.

More than 8.4 million tourists were received in all 258 important scenic spots across the province, an increase of 241 percent over the same period in 2022 and an increase of nearly 77 percent over the same period in 2019, the report said.

The report said that the three major 5A-level tourist attractions in Jiaxing, including the renowned Wuzhen Scenic Area, received a total of 733,200 tourists. Revenue from ticket sales to tourists visiting the three places totaled 34.81 million yuan.

A series of activities to revive the traditional culture also saw a significant rise in urban and rural travel this year. Activities included cooking tea around a stove, village galas and fairs for Spring Festival.

The report said that more than 9,834 characteristic activities were held across the province, with a total of 4.12 million participants.

Fang Xiaoying in Hangzhou contributed to this story.