BEIJING: The civil aviation market of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw robust growth in 2019, reports China Economic Net quoting local authorities.Xinjiang emerges as most popular visitor’s destination.
Around 37.58 million passenger trips were completed last year, up 11.6 percent year on year, while cargo turnover processed by the industry rose 13 percent to reach 217,000 tonnes.
So far, the number of air routes has reached 307, including 27 routes linking Xinjiang with foreign countries and regions, as the autonomous region strives to improve connectivity and transform itself into a transportation hub along the Belt and Road.
The CAAC Xinjiang Regional Administration has completed a total of 15.39 billion yuan (around 2.2 billion U.S. dollars) of investment on key projects since 2016. Construction will start this year for new airports in Taxkorgan, Bayanbulak and Alaer.
Home to dozens of ethnic groups, Xinjiang occupies one-sixth of China’s territory. With diverse ethnic culture and unique landscapes, it has vowed to build itself into a popular destination for tourists from home and abroad.
The number of tourists to Xinjiang exceeded 200 million in the first 10 months of 2019, up 42.62 percent from the same period of the previous year.
During winter and spring, a total of 570,000 passenger trips are expected to be made via 15 overseas flight routes at the airport, which boasts fast customs clearance services thanks to smart technologies.
Airports across China are seeing flights to and from a growing number of overseas destinations, as domestic and international airlines race to tap the booming international aviation market.
China’s international aviation market is small compared with some countries, but enjoys fast growth and huge potential, said Zhao Wei, a professor with the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China, at the 2019 China Aviation and Tourism Forum.
The steady expansion of the outbound tourism market and the large number of individuals who are yet to enjoy air travel will drive the sector’s rise, Zhao said.
(With additional input from INP)
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