A bridge at a newly-opened scenic area in Hai’an, a county-level city in Nantong, East China’s Jiangsu province on Oct 1 [Photo/IC]

Nantong's tourism industry saw robust growth both in terms of revenue and number of visitors during the seven-day National Day holiday, according to data released by the city’s culture, radio, television and tourism bureau on Oct 7.

Ten major scenic spots received a total of 1.11 million visitors during the National Day holiday from Oct 1 to 7, marking an increase of 11.82 percent compared to the same period last year.

Total ticket income reached 26.07 million yuan ($3.66 million), a year-on-year increase of 16.92 percent.

Scenic areas have launched a variety of cultural and tourism activities including firework shows, music festivals and exhibitions to entertain tourists and celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Four double decker buses have been put into operation during the holiday and will run until February 2020.

Rural tourism also proved popular during the holiday, with four provincial five-star rural tourist resorts receiving more than 30,000 visitors each over the past seven days.

Popular homestay hotels, such as Xunhai Shiguang and Daizhu Fanqie garden, reported that their occupancy rate topped 90 percent during the festivities.

As the host city of the 2019 China Forest Tour Festival which will begin on Oct 18, Nantong has also made efforts to improve its services in scenic spots, hotels and restaurants.

A number of tourism facilities, including tourist service centers, parking lots and toilets, have also been upgraded.