A temple fair in Ningbo, Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

The tourism industry in Ningbo exhibited strong recovery and growth in the first quarter of 2025, supported by favorable policies and rising consumer confidence. 

Between January and March, the city welcomed 29.03 million visitors, a 13.9 percent increase from the previous year, ranking second in growth rate across Zhejiang province. Tourism revenue also climbed to 37.03 billion yuan ($5.08 billion), reflecting a year-on-year growth of 16.5 percent.

The number of overnight visitors saw a notable rise to 15.18 million, an impressive 19.9 percent increase, placing Ningbo third in the province for growth in this category. Provincial tourists accounted for 81.2 percent of total visitors, while 18.8 percent came from outside the province. Within the province, intra-county trips made up 63.1 percent, followed by cross-county (19.3 percent) and inter-city travel (17.6 percent). Male visitors constituted 65.6 percent of tourists, while female visitors accounted for 34.4 percent.

Tourism numbers surged across all 10 districts, counties, and county-level cities in Ningbo. Yinzhou district, Haishu district, and Cixi county-level city attracted the highest visitor numbers, while Xiangshan county, Beilun district, and Fenghua district recorded the fastest growth rates.

During this period, Ningbo's 89 A-level attractions hosted 15.8 million visitors, with 4A-level and above destinations receiving 78.79 percent of them. Hotel occupancy rates averaged 46.58 percent, increasing by 2.26 percent year-on-year. During the Qingming Festival holiday, occupancy rates peaked at 62.56 percent, marking significant improvement.