China welcomes tourism, consumption rebound under strengthened COVID-19 containment
China DailyTourists pose for selfies amid blooming cole flowers in Wanggou township of Baofeng county in Pingdingshan, Central China's Henan province, March 26, 2020. SHANGHAI - The upcoming five-day International Labor Day holiday will be a "Golden Week" for tourism and consumption since China entered the phase of regular epidemic prevention and control. "I can book through the attractions' official online channels or call them with the required information for a limited number of family members, and check the real-time passenger flow on the WeChat accounts of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism," she said, adding that nearly 200 attractions, museums, art galleries and public cultural centers have launched booking access through Visit Shanghai, an online platform with Shanghai's cultural and tourism resources. "In April, the number of tourists who made online bookings increased by 300 percent from March," said Yu Xiaojiang with Trip.com Group, noting that over 4,000 tourist attractions in China have launched online booking access. Internet empowerment "Epidemic-control measures including online booking are also important for ensuring the tourism sector's high-quality long-term development," said Zhao Shuai, adding that China will eye booming smart tourist attractions empowered by internet technologies.