A boat tour is offered at night at the Taierzhuang ancient town in Zaozhuang, East China's Shandong province. [Photo/WeChat account: sdswltwx]

During the Spring Festival holiday, various scenic spots in Shandong province welcomed a large number of tourists, surpassing the previous years' visitor numbers and demonstrating Shandong's unique appeal as a tourism destination.

The Shandong Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism recently released data showing that during the 2024 Spring Festival holiday, 200 key monitored tourist attractions across the province received a total of 26.49 million visitors, generating a revenue of 1.18 billion yuan ($160 million), increases of 42.3 percent and 93.2 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year.

This year, Shandong province has continuously enriched the supply of high-quality cultural and tourism products and launched a variety of cultural and tourism consumption promotion activities. During the 2024 Shandong Rural Culture and Tourism Festival, rural cultural tourism across Shandong province has experienced a sustained surge in popularity.

Throughout the Spring Festival holiday, 28 rural tourist attractions in Shandong received a total of 2.32 million visitors, achieving a revenue of 143.78 million yuan and ticket sales of 23.45 million yuan, representing respective increases of 58.6 percent, 153.4 percent, and 105.3 percent.

In addition to rural tourism, well-established attractions in cities such as Jinan, Qingdao, and Taian have also introduced a variety of activities including lantern festivals, banquet tours, and light performances, providing visitors with unforgettable travel experiences.