EURO, Olympics boost China's summer tourism market

The latest data from China's tourism industry shows that outbound travel to Europe is becoming more popular this summer thanks to the two major sporting events, the UEFA EURO 2024 and the Paris Olympics, while travel to other areas of the world thrives as well. Over the past week, searches related to Europe have surged on online travel sites. During the EURO football competition from June 15 to July 15, Chinese tourists' travel orders to Europe increased by 80 percent year on year, with air ticket bookings to the competition's host country of Germany soaring across the board.

"In previous years, customers only started to inquire about European tours in May and June. This year, we have received inquiries since April. Currently, only about 20 percent of the remaining seats for summer European tours are available. We have customized tours, mainly for watching games," said Zheng Zihua, spokeswoman for a travel agency in south China's Guangzhou city. Spain is another popular destination for Chinese travelers. During the EURO, the Barcelona Tourism Bureau came to Guangzhou to promote tourism projects and attract travelers. Barcelona is world-renowned for the architect Antoni Gaudi, and tourists can enjoy the cathedral, medieval square and numerous museums.

In addition to Europe, the 2024 China-Tanzania Tourism and Culture Year opened in May. Tanzania is the largest country in East Africa, with the world-famous Mount Kilimanjaro, Serengeti grasslands and the Ngorongoro Crater. It has also been rated as the country with the best wildlife park in Africa.

"Serengeti, where the great migration usually happens in September or October. And it's a good time to come and see the migration. However, we also have really beautiful sights. We have the southern circuit, it's not that crowded, and it has the Selous Game Reserve. The Selous Game Reserve is actually four times the size of Switzerland," said Fatma Khamis, principal secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage of Zanzibar.

Data shows that the current summer outbound product bookings have nearly doubled year-on-year. It is expected that the first outbound travel peak will occur on July 6, with many choosing visa-free countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

"Now we don't need a visa (to go to Malaysia). The whole customs clearance process used to take more than 60 minutes, but now it can be done in 30 minutes," said a Chinese resident.

EURO, Olympics boost China's summer tourism market

The Chang'e-6 mission made three major technological breakthroughs and a world-first accomplishment, an official of the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said at a press conference about the lunar exploration mission in Beijing on Thursday.

Vice Administrator of CNSA Bian Zhigang noted that the Chang'e-6 mission is a lunar exploration mission adopted with most advanced technologies to date in China's space exploration endeavors.

"The Chang'e-6 mission made breakthroughs in lunar retrograde orbit design and control, intelligent sampling on the moon and lunar ascent from its far side, and realized the first unmanned automatic sample collection and return from the far side of the moon in the world, setting another world record for China's aerospace program," Bian said.

Samples collected from the far side of the moon may help mankind further study the planet, said Li Chunlai, deputy chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission, at the press conference.

"The samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken Basin may be very different from the samples collected from the front side, which is conducive to a more comprehensive understanding of the geological evolution history of the moon," Li said.

The mission also carried out cooperation with the European Space Agency, France, Italy and Pakistan on four scientific payloads to obtain valuable first-hand scientific data.

"We promised the orbiter and lander will each reserve a volume of 10 kg for international payloads. We fulfilled the promise and accumulated experience for us to perform more complex tasks in the future," Hu Hao, chief designer of the Chang'e-6 mission, told reporters.

CNSA official on Chang'e-6's major breakthroughs