BEIJING, April 30 -- Nearly 1.42 billion domestic trips were made in China in the first three months of 2024, an increase of 16.7 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Tuesday.

Over 1.52 trillion yuan (about 213.89 billion U.S. dollars) was spent by domestic tourists during the period, up 17 percent from the same period last year.

Notably, the number of domestic trips made by rural residents rose by 25.7 percent year-on-year, with a 26.9-percent increase in spending compared to the first quarter of 2023, the data showed.