In 2014, tourist economy in Yichang maintained a stable operation situation since scientific development was taken as the main subject, transformation and upgrading as the principal line and new tourist district construction as the engine. 40,850,100 visitors from home and abroad traveled to Yichang last year with a total tourist income of RMB 33.617 billion (about $53.75 billion), up 23.03% and 29.24% year on year, 10% and 11% higher than the national growth rate and 15.46% and 17.05% higher than the provincial growth rate. Main economic indicators of tourism in Yichang ranked the second place in Hubei Province.
　　Domestic tourism market grew rapidly
　　There has been a great demand in domestic tourism market of Yichang since 2014. 40,494,300 domestic visitors traveled to Yichang with a domestic tourist income of RMB 33.017 billion (about $52.79 billion), up 23.03% and 29.48% year on year. The increase rate of tourist income was higher than tourist arrivals, which indicated that domestic tourism has shown a trend of efficient development. According to the statistics from travel agencies, the top 10 visitor sources are from Hubei, Jiangsu, Hunan, Henan, Chongqing, Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Shandong, among which tourists from Hubei accounted for 36.52% of the total domestic tourists, 8% lower than last year. It shows that tourism industry in Yichang has been greatly improved and sales promotion outside Hubei tourist market has been effective.
　　Inbound tourism market enlarged steadily
　　The number of inbound tourists slightly increased to 355,800 in 2014. The main inbound tourists were from Europe and America, accounting for 64% of the total inbound tourist market; tourists from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan increased to 80,500, accounting for 22.63%, 2 % higher than last year, among whom tourists from Hong Kong accounted for 60% and Taiwan increased by 29.22% year on year.
　　Outbound tourism fever was rising
　　Travel agencies in Yichang organized 262,500 tourists to travel outbound, increasing by 18.83% compared with the same period last year. The number of tourists that traveled to Taiwan reached 108,900, with an increase by 38% compared with the same period last year and accounted for 41% of the total outbound tourism market; 36,900 visitors traveled to Hong Kong and 31,000 to Macau, both groups decreased compared with last year. According to the number of tourists visiting, the top ten outbound tourism destinations are Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia and France.
　　Holiday economy drove effectively
　　Holiday economy continuously stimulated the domestic tourism consumption due to a series of policies, such as the plan to lift road tolls for passenger cars taking highways during major Chinese holidays approved by The State Council and ticket free for the Three Gorges Dam. Holiday tourism market (main characteristics are leisure, vacation, entertainment, catering and shopping) became prosperous due to large numbers of tourists and consumption.
　　11,506,000 tourists from home and abroad traveled to Yichang during the Spring Festival, the Golden Week of the National Day, May Day Golden Week and the Mid-autumn Festival in 2014, up 28.84% year on year, which accounted for 28.17% of the total visitors in the whole year. The total tourist income reached RMB5.622 billion ($0.899 billion), up 33.54% year on year, which accounted for 16.72% of the total tourist income throughout the year.
　　Key scenic spots reception increased stably
　　Some scenic spots in Yichang attracted a large number of tourists due to upgrading in tourism quality and popularity. The total number of tourists that traveled to A-level scenic spots in Yichang reached 14,579,400, increasing by 23.69% compared with the same period last year. Among key scenic spots on year-on-year basis, 2,013,200 tourists visited the Three Gorges Dam with an increase of 23.62%, the Three Gorges Household 3,117,700 & 15%, Qingjiang River Gallery 1,240,000 & 20%, Xiling Gorge 1,132,400 & 18.12%, Yuquan Scenic Spot 969,900 & 64.33%, the Three Gorges Waterfall 1,128,100 & 21%, Chexi (Waterwheels River) 763,000 & 17.77%, the Quyuan Memorial Temple 874,100 & 130.94% and the Grand Canyon of Chaibu River 309,700 & 34.83%.