Quqiubai Martyrs Monument in Changting county, Longyan, Fujian province. [Photo/WeChat: fjta12301]

During this year's Qingming Festival holiday, Fujian province experienced a major surge in tourism, as indicated by data released by Ctrip on April 6. The province witnessed twice as many tourism-related bookings as the same period last year, with a remarkable 295 percent year-on-year increase in three-day ticket orders for scenic spots in the province.

Third-party calculations revealed that during the 2024 Qingming Festival holiday, Fujian welcomed 4.42 million tourists, resulting in a tourism income of 4.03 billion yuan ($556.82 million). On average, tourists spent 912 yuan, a 14.8-percent increase compared to 2019.

Short trips emerged as the preferred choice for many tourists during the holiday. Despite continuous rainy weather, enthusiasm for outdoor activities remained undiminished, with activities such as ancestral worship, commemorating martyrs, spring outings, and cultural celebrations becoming focal points of interest.

Throughout the province, a diverse array of red cultural and tourism activities, including the narration of revolutionary stories and tomb-sweeping attracted many people to revolutionary memorial halls, museums, and revolutionary sites. Statistics show that in the first two days of the holiday, Changting's red historical sites received 19,400 visitors.

Flower appreciation and spring outings took center stage when it came to holiday travel. Various districts and cities in Fujian orchestrated a series of spring outing and flower appreciation activities, complemented by intangible cultural heritage experiences, specialty cuisines, agricultural adventures, outdoor camping, and other distinctive tourism products, enticing people to explore the region.

In Xiamen's Huli district, early spring outings and bird-watching activities drew numerous bird-watching enthusiasts to Wuyuan Bay Wetland Park, where they engaged in various interactive experiences focused on summer migratory birds.

The appeal of cultural festivities remained strong. Xiamen hosted a multitude of entertainment events, including the Crispy band live performance. The 2024 Fuzhou Strawberry Music Festival commenced with over 17,000 attendees on the first day.