Guangdong’s tourism during the National Day holiday period is showing early signs of vibrancy, with the number of visitors at leading tourist attractions in the province hitting 2.9 million on the first day of the week-long holiday, growing 6.1 percent year-on-year, according to preliminary estimates.

Data from Guangzhou-based travel agency CGZL shows that local tours within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area accounted for 20 percent.

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao travel routes are increasing in popularity, as bookings increased nearly 15 percent compared with the same period last year.

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First-day travel figures show that Zhuhai, Huizhou, Dongguan, Hong Kong and Macao drew a large share of visitors. More than 70 percent of tourists opted for short trips lasting two to three days.

To shore up the tourism economy and boost consumption, Guangdong’s culture and tourism department has launched a 30-million-yuan ($4.47 million ) consumption voucher campaign that runs through Oct 31, targeting residents and visitors from both China and overseas.

The campaign includes online and offline promotions, with a maximum discount of 500 yuan per transaction. Eligible products cover hotels and homestays, scenic-spot tickets and tour packages, as well as emerging tourism offerings such as cruise and yacht trips, family tours, study tours and senior-friendly wellness travel.

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Meanwhile, a large share of people are choosing to travel to places outside their home province. Nearly half of travelers embarked on inter-provincial trips on Thursday, which marked the start of the holiday period, known as the Golden Week, according to CGZL. Most of such travelers are families.

The number of outbound group tours on the first day accounted for 32 percent.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com