Holiday tourism hot despite the cold

GOLDEN week brought to the city 734,800 visitors who spent more than 379 million yuan ($52.28 million) during Spring Festival, the municipal Tourism Administration reports.

There were 195,700 overnight tourists in Zhuhai. Meanwhile, 138,700 people used tourist services, which organized travel for 54,900 residents. Local tourist attractions welcomed 922,600 visitors.

The administration reports that changing golden week to start from the last day of the last lunar month this year rather than the first day of the first month of the Lunar New Year affected tourist numbers, as people traditionally stay home with their families on that day. The prolonged freezing weather in central and southern areas of China also kept people off the roads.

However, out-of-town motorist tourists from surrounding areas in the Peal River Delta and Jiangxi, Guangxi and Hunan provinces were seen throughout the city while hot springs, golf courses and the countryside -- especially Doumen District and Hengqin Island -- became hot spots for holidaymakers.

Zhuhai Ocean Spring Resort, which had more than 100,000 visitors, and Jiuzhou Port Administration, whose subsidiary New Yuanming Palace and other tourist spots recorded great numbers of tourists. About 10,000 migrant workers from Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and other nearby cities visited Ocean Spring Resort free of charge. China Travel Service Gongbei Port topped all local travel services in revenue and number of tourists.

More than 150,000 people with 10,000 vehicles visited Yeli Island Park during the New Year holiday. Around 30,000 people were seen on the 1st and 3rd days of the Lunar New Year when the weather was fine. The peak time was 11am to 3:30pm. Most were hill hikers, exercisers and sea viewers.

Nearly 1.48 million border crossings, of which 600,000 were made by inland tourists, were logged at Gongbei Checkpoint during the seven-day holiday, a slight reduction from last year. Of inland passengers to cross the border, 90 per cent were from the Pearl River Delta, a clear rise from usual.

All 46 inspection lanes were open and 24 temporary lanes added to expedite passenger flow, which made 95 per cent of border crossings take only 25 minutes.
Some 450,000 passengers were transported during the week. On the 6th day of the Lunar New Year, 5,817 passengers flew in and out of Zhuhai Airport, a record high since airport operations began in 1995.

Around 31,450 passengers were carried during the holiday, a growth of 22.1 per cent from last year and a record high for the golden week. There were 272 flights with the arrival passenger load factor (PLF) reaching 70.1 per cent and departure PLF 80.4 per cent.

Some 120,000 passengers were counted at Jiuzhou Ferry Terminal during the holiday, down 20 per cent from last year. However, the number of passengers heading for Hong Kong was 65,000, which is 3,000 more than last year.

Nearly 300,000 passengers used the bus transport network during the seven days, a slight decrease from last year.

The three-day variety show cosponsored by the municipal Party Committee, government and provincial Labour & Social Security Department especially for migrant workers concluded at the Great Hall of Zhuhai last Sunday More than 3,000 migrant workers from Xiangzhou, Doumen and Jinwan districts watched the show.

(ZD News)