Central China's Hubei province, once hard hit by the COVID-19 epidemic, has received more than 53 million tourists since a tourism promotion event was launched on Aug 8.

Tourists show a strong desire to travel to Hubei recently. Last week nearly 4.48 million visitors flowed into the province, according to the provincial culture and tourism department.

Hubei has decided to open its key scenic spots to visitors from across the country free of charge starting from Aug 8 to the end of the year, a token of gratitude for nationwide assistance during the COVID-19 outbreak.

By Sunday, 1,048 Hubei-based travel agencies have resumed business, accounting for 88.29 percent of the whole. Meanwhile, the number of tourists in 299 scenic spots of Hubei has reached or exceeded that of the same period last year.

Booming tourism also activated consumption in Hubei. In October, the turnover of the catering industry in the province increased by 6.1 percent year on year.