The domestic cultural and tourism market of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region saw a robust recovery during the May Day holiday, which lasted from May 1 to 5, officials from the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region said on May 6.

The region received a total of 22.29 million tourist visits, up 198.2 percent year-on-year and 18.2 percent higher than the figure during the same time period in 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guangxi's overall tourism consumption during the five-day holiday increased by 261.6 percent year-on-year to 18.29 billion yuan ($2.83 billion), 29.2 percent higher than the figure from the same time period in 2019. 

Cultural tourism such as red tourism, coastal tourism, rural tourism and self-driving tourism have been particularly popular among tourists during the holiday. 

Weizhou Island in Beihai has been listed among the top 10 hottest tourist attractions during the May Day holiday, and Yintan Beach in Beihai has welcomed more than 100,000 tourists daily for three consecutive days.

Statistics from online tourism platform Fliggy show that bookings of rural homestays in areas including Beihai and Guilin increased by 220 percent year-on-year during the holiday, and the prices of hotel rooms also surged by 60 percent.

Tourist attractions with convenient transportation and completed infrastructure have been first choices for tourists who took on self-driving tours such as the Sanniang Bay in Qinzhou and Longji Rice Terraces in Guilin's Longsheng county.

Tourism consumption coupons worth tens of millions of yuan have been released by the region, and some tourist attractions have also launched preferential policies such as offering discounts on tickets.