WORLD
A record 9 bln trips expected as China starts world's busiest travel season
Baku, January 27, AZERTAC
China officially ushered in its largest annual population migration on Friday, 15 days ahead of the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, with record-breaking journey numbers expected, according to Xinhua.
An estimated 9 billion passenger trips are likely to be made during the 2024 travel rush period, according to the country's transport ministry.
Of the total, 7.2 billion trips or about 80 percent will be made by self-driving, while 1.8 billion trips will be made via railways, highways, waterways, and civil aviation, the ministry said.
China's railway operator on Friday said the country's railways are expected to handle 480 million passenger trips during this travel season, with an average of 12 million trips daily, an increase of 37.9 percent compared with the previous year. About 10.6 million train trips are expected to be made on Friday, the first day of the travel rush.
The 40-day travel surge, also known as "chunyun," will see hundreds of millions of people return home and reunite with their families and friends.
As a leading indicator of festivities, China's railway system saw a surge in ticket sales, with about 230 million tickets have been sold since Jan. 12, a notable year-on-year increase.
With the record-high migration unfolding, this year's Spring Festival holiday is set to experience not only a stunning number of people flow, but also a vibrant consumption revival boosted by the prosperous tourism market, adding new steam to the country's economic recovery.