STORY: China expects record-breaking Spring Festival travel rush
SHOOTING TIME: file, recent footage
DATELINE: Jan. 12, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:47
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of trains and passengers (file)
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): CHI JINGYANG, Official with China's National Immigration Administration (recent footage)
3. various of inbound and outbound passengers (recent footage)
4. various of planes (recent footage)

STORYLINE:

China is gearing up for an exceptional travel season.

Travel authorities and tourism industry players are expecting record-breaking journey numbers during the upcoming Spring Festival, adding new steam to the country's economic recovery.
   
The Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 10 this year, is China's biggest festival for family reunions. 

It will serve as an important window for observing vitality and consumer confidence levels in the world's second-largest economy.

A surge of both inbound and outbound travelers is also expected.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): CHI JINGYANG, Official with China's National Immigration Administration
"Based on the previous patterns of inbound and outbound passenger flows, we anticipate a new peak of inbound and outbound travelers during the Spring Festival.
The National Immigration Administration has specifically deployed nationwide border control agencies to make adequate preparations in advance. We are dedicated to providing necessary convenience and assistance to both domestic and foreign travelers, ensuring safe, smooth, and orderly passage across the border during the Spring Festival. We also welcome overseas Chinese to return home for the festival and invite foreign friends to come to China and experience traditional Chinese culture."

An estimated 80 million passenger trips, a record high, are likely to be handled by China's civil aviation sector during this year's Spring Festival travel rush, which starts on Jan. 26 and ends on March 5, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).
   
This figure represents a 44.9-percent surge compared with the same period of 2023 and is an increase of 9.8 percent from the level recorded during the Spring Festival travel rush in 2019.
   
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)