Tourists visit the famous Baotu Spring in Jinan. The spring is also known as the "Number One Spring under Heaven" for its impressive water volume and consistent temperature. [Photo/IC]

In the first half of this year, the number of tourist visits in Shandong reached 340 million and its tourism revenue achieved 406.07 billion yuan ($56.29 billion), equivalent to 107.3 percent and 87.7 percent of the levels seen in 2019, respectively.

The fulfillment of people's long-suppressed desire to travel, previously stymied due to COVID-19 outbreaks, has injected fresh impetus into the rapid revival of the province's economy.

The online travel agency Qunar said Zibo in Shandong saw its hotel bookings increase 20-fold during this year's May Day holiday compared to last year. The city's popularity boomed after its barbecuing style, which uses griddle pancakes to wrap grilled meat similar to the way Peking duck is eaten, went viral.

Tourists crowd a market in Zibo, Shandong province. [Photo/IC]

Shandong's tourism market will maintain its recovery momentum as consumption trends and activities continue to gain traction, said local officials.

In the coming months, Shandong will strengthen the marketing of its brand as "Friendly Shandong" and "Shandong Specialties", and roll out a tourism promotional event dubbed "Travelling around Shandong and enjoy life in Qilu".

It will also continue to launch an extravaganza of cultural tourism consumption activities, and provide more colorful cultural tourism products to stimulate the vitality of the cultural tourism market.

Tourists escape summer heat in a bamboo forest in Yinan county of Linyi, Shandong province. [Photo/IC]