(Yicai) Jan. 5 -- Many overseas tourists picked China to celebrate the New Year, with nearly 100 Chinese cities welcoming such visitors, helping to maintain the steady growth of the country's tourism market.

International travelers made various reservations across 97 cities in China during the three-day New Year holiday, according to data from platform site Qunar. The number of visitors from Saudi Arabia surged 5.3 times from a year earlier, while that from Uzbekistan jumped 4.7 times.

Inbound ticket bookings soared 110 percent year on year, with Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Harbin, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Kunming, and Xiamen among the most popular destinations, data from Trip.Com showed. In addition, reservations for experiential entertainment products skyrocketed 30 times, highlighting foreign tourists' shift in seeking more in-depth experiences rather than simply visiting.

China saw most international visitors come from neighboring nations, including Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, and Indonesia. The number of visitors from Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, the United States, and Australia also increased significantly.

In addition, following Hainan province's customs closure on Dec. 18, beginning island-wide independent customs operations under the Hainan Free Trade Port and rolling out a raft of tax incentives and preferential policies to spur trade and investment, the "duty-free shopping + coastal vacation" model became a big draw for foreign tourists. Inbound bookings to Sanya soared 170 percent and to Wanning almost 300 percent.

The number of Chinese tourists traveling abroad over the New Year break also jumped, with Southeast Asian destinations within the four-hour flight circle remaining most popular. However, other spots offering unique experiences also surged in popularity, with Argentina, Oman, Poland, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan seeing the fastest growth in travel bookings.

Reservations for chartered car tours from outbound Chinese travelers soared more than 10 times, while car rental bookings surged over 210 percent, according to data from Fliggy.

Editor: Martin Kadiev