China's domestic tourism sector saw significant growth in the first three quarters of 2025, with domestic tourist trips reaching 4.998 billion, up 18 percent year-on-year, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) on Tuesday.

In terms of travel expenses, domestic residents spent 4.85 trillion yuan ($681.3 billion) on travel, an increase of 500 billion yuan over the same period last year, an increase of 11.5 percent year-on-year, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing data from the MCT.

Among the total, urban residents accounted for 3.789 billion trips, up 15.9 percent year-on-year, while rural residents made 1.209 billion trips, showing a more robust growth rate of 25 percent year-on-year, according to the data.

Urban residents spent 4.05 trillion yuan on travel, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 percent, while rural residents spent 800 billion yuan on travel, a year-on-year increase of 24 percent, the MCT data showed.

Analysts said that the travel surge demonstrated the huge potential of China's domestic consumption, and the boom will help drive the high-quality development of the world's second-largest economy.

The figures reflect the continued recovery and growth of China's domestic tourism market, with rural residents showing a particularly strong increase in both travel frequency and spending, Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for the Information and Communication Economy under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The travel surge will inject new impetus into the country's vibrant consumption market and aid its economic development, Pan said, adding that the booming tourism market, led by activities such as cultural experiences and sports events, reflects new trends and changes in China's tourism industry amid the country's consumption upgrading and digital transformation.