China's tourism market experienced a remarkable surge during the first three quarters of this year, a senior cultural and tourism official said Thursday.

Domestic tourism recorded 3.67 billion visits and a staggering revenue of 3.7 trillion yuan (about 520.47 billion U.S. dollars) during the period, representing year-on-year increases of 75 percent and 114 percent, respectively, figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) showed.

Du Jiang, vice minister of culture and tourism, said an increased desire for travel among residents this year had significantly propelled domestic tourism.

"This surge not only stimulated increased consumer spending in the sector but also played a role in driving economic recovery," Du told a press conference.

The ministry actively promoted new tourism products featuring camping, ice and snow, sports, and others to cater to the diverse tourism preferences of the public, Du said, adding that a variety of themed travel routes were also crafted for tourists.

The ministry is formulating a three-year plan to boost inbound travel, aiming to provide tourists visiting China with tourism products of higher quality and more convenient services, he added.

Speaking at the press conference, Lu Yingchuan, vice minister of culture and tourism, said that Chinese travel agencies and online travel companies have been allowed to resume outbound group tourism services to 138 countries to facilitate the recovery of outbound tourism.

ROBUST PERFORMANCE MARKET

Lu told the press conference that China's performance market is also gaining steam, with the number of revenue-generating performance events in the first three quarters of 2023 surpassing the pre-pandemic level.

During the period, 342,000 such performances were held nationwide, up 121 percent from the same period in 2019, said Lu.

He added that these performances generated revenues of 31.54 billion yuan and attracted 111 million audiences, representing a growth of 84.2 percent and 188.5 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019.

Lots of Chinese theatrical productions, either newly created or restaged, were well received by audiences, he noted, citing spotlighted performances such as the dance drama "Wing Chun," Yue Opera "New Dragon Gate Inn," and Kunqu Opera "The Peony Pavilion."

He added that the ministry will continue implementing mechanisms and policies in talent cultivation, international communication, and theatrical creation, thus presenting the audience with more high-quality productions.

GOING DIGITAL

At the press conference, Lu also highlighted the role of cultural digitalization, which is a crucial step in promoting the high-quality development of the cultural sector.

MCT figures show that about 900,000 pieces and sets of cultural relics at the Palace Museum have undergone digitalization, constituting 48 percent of its total collections; among the 1.43 million sets of collections at the National Museum of China, 700,000 sets have been digitally processed.

Lu said promoting the digitalization of such resources lays a solid foundation for better utilization and presentation.

The country has also redoubled efforts to provide digital content in public cultural services, including projects for building a smart library system and public culture cloud platforms, according to Lu.

The MCT pledged to formulate supporting policies and regulations, including those related to market regulation and intellectual property protection, to facilitate the sound digitalization of the sector.