Tourism Spending During Golden Week Rises 21.2%

China's tourism spending during National Day's Golden Week was 223.3 billion yuan (US$36.47 billion) with a year-on-year increase of 21.2 percent, the National Tourism Administration said on Oct 8.

The average per capita spending of tourists during the weeklong holiday was 521 yuan, the administration said.

The total number of tourists during the period was 428 million person-trips, up 0.7 percent compared with the same period in 2012 and a 15.1 percent increase.

Because the Tourism Law was effective as of Oct 1, the price of tour groups was up, as the law forbids the imposition of extra costs during tours. As a result, individual travelers became more common during Golden Week than in the past, according to the tourism authority.