Harbin's Ice and Snow World is crowded with tourists during the Spring Festival holiday. [Photo/MY399.COM]
 
Driven by its ice and snow tourism, the consumer and tourism markets of Harbin, the capital city of China's northernmost Heilongjiang province, saw a sharp increase during the 2023 Spring Festival holiday, which took place from Jan 21 to 27.
 
Statistics from the city's bureau of culture, radio, television and tourism show that 4.87 million tourists arrived in Harbin during the seven-day holiday, representing a year-on-year increase of 29.7 percent.
 
The visits generated a tourism revenue of 4.28 billion yuan ($611.43 million), an increase of 163.1 percent compared with the same period last year.
 
Over 2 million people came from outside Harbin, accounting for 48.6 percent of the total tourist count and generating a revenue of 3.75 billion yuan.
 
Compared with the same period in recent years, the number of tourists from outside the city had risen sharply, achieving record highs in both tourist numbers and revenue.
 
Harbin's traffic passenger flow increased significantly during the holiday. Its airport passenger throughput totaled at 385,600, a year-on-year increase of 95.1 percent; and its railway recorded a total of 1.04 million in passenger throughput, a year-on-year increase of 127 percent.
 
Additionally, the occupancy rate of major hotels in Harbin maintained 90 percent or above capacity during the peak period of the Spring Festival holiday, and sales volume increased to nearly 20 percent higher than usual.
 
Harbin's movie box offices made 41.05 million yuan during this period, a year-on-year increase of 13 percent; and the number of moviegoers was 838,000, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent.