The province's cultural and tourism market witnessed a robust balance of supply and demand during this year's Spring Festival holiday, showcasing a positive trend characterized by "rising overall volume, optimized structure, and improved quality and efficiency", as the reporter learned from the Department of Culture and Tourism on the evening of February 23. According to comprehensive third-party big data estimates, Sichuan Province received a total of 58.6097 million tourist visits during the Spring Festival holiday, generating 44.574 billion yuan in tourism expenditure—up 14.68 percent and 13.35 percent year on year, respectively. Public cultural venues across Sichuan—libraries, cultural centers, and museums—collectively received 10.3994 million visits. Meanwhile, the "Sichuan Ease" brand is gaining greater recognition, acclaim, and global appeal.

During the Spring Festival holiday, the province leveraged the "Sichuan Ease" brand to launch a series of themed events, including "Galloping Through the Three Kingdoms", "Blessings on Horseback", and "Golden Horse in the Qiang Mountains", creating a festive experience infused with both traditional New Year charm and distinctive Sichuan flavor.

Major attractions sizzle as all-for-one tourism sees robust supply and demand. Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area in Aba Prefecture received 182,700 tourist visits, while the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding welcomed 480,000 visits, Kuanzhai Alley Scenic Area received 1.2589 million visits, and Qionghai Scenic Area in Xichang welcomed 741,800 visits. These figures represent year-on-year increases of 17.7 percent, 11 percent, 9.7 percent, and 7 percent, respectively. The Jianmen Shu Road Jianmen Pass 5A Scenic Area received 414,100 visits and generated 23.8786 million yuan in ticket revenue—both setting new records for the Spring Festival holiday.

Cultural venues heat up as "spending the New Year in a museum" becomes a holiday trend. Under the theme "Celebrate the Spring Festival at Sanxingdui · Pray for Blessings at the Ancient Shu Heritage Site", the Sanxingdui Museum presented a cultural feast blending ancient civilization with Spring Festival traditions, attracting nearly 200,000 tourist visits. The "Galloping Through the Three Kingdoms" Temple Fair at Chengdu Wuhou Shrine and the Spring Festival puppet shows at Du Fu Thatched Cottage drew large and enthusiastic audiences. The Mengxihe Site in Ziyang opened to the public for the first time, while the Guang'an Museum showcased the "Rhythm of Antiquity Overflowing with Radiance—Masterpieces of Court Enamels from the Palace Museum", and the Zigong Salt Industry History Museum offered intangible cultural heritage experiences, each attraction offering its own unique charm.

Cities across Sichuan leveraged modern technologies such as drone displays, digital light shows, AI interactions, and MR experiences to create immersive cultural tourism scenarios, which became major crowd-pullers during the holiday. For example, Mount Emei Scenic Area in Leshan hosted the national debut of the "Celebrating the Spring Festival in the Forbidden City" MR exhibition, while the Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area launched a tech-infused New Year party with a traditional Chinese flair, titled "Blessings from the Giant Buddha, Welcoming Spring with the Auspicious Horse". In Bazhong, the immersive digital exhibition at Nankan Mountain drew continuous crowds.

Riding the momentum of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Sichuan's 19 ski resorts became gathering places for winter sports enthusiasts, as ice-and-snow tourism evolved from sightseeing to an integrated experience blending sports, culture, and hands-on activities. Scenic areas such as Wanggangping in Ya'an, Hailuogou in Ganzi, and Bipenggou in Lixian County introduced one-stop packages featuring skiing competitions and snow play parks, creating an all-day cultural tourism consumption model of "playing in the snow by day and soaking in hot springs by night".

Adhering to a people-oriented approach, Sichuan innovated its promotional strategies through integrated online-offline campaigns and coordinated efforts within and beyond the province, effectively converting visitor traffic into consumer spending. The province coordinated the distribution of nearly 40 million yuan in cultural tourism vouchers, covering diverse spending scenarios such as scenic spots, accommodation, and dining. Ganzi Prefecture introduced a "buy once, visit forever" policy, granting lifetime free access to 14 scenic spots. Yibin capitalized on the Spring Festival Gala buzz by launching 973 special cultural tourism events. In Lezhi County, Ziyang, an intangible cultural heritage parade drew over 30,000 visitors, fully unleashing consumption potential.

Meanwhile, cities across the province rolled out a dense array of people-benefiting measures, including ticket discounts, consumption vouchers, free parking, and shuttle bus services, to enhance the visitor experience in all dimensions. A total of 62 A-level scenic spots across the province offered discounted tickets to visitors from regions that have provided paired assistance and collaboration, including Shanghai, Chongqing, Zhejiang, and Shandong. Mianyang opened over 50,000 public parking spaces. Guang'an introduced a "Three Free" policy—free admission to scenic areas, free bus rides, and free vehicle parking. Ya'an distributed ten million yuan in consumption vouchers and launched visitor-friendly activities such as "Explore Ya'an for Just 1 Yuan". Suining, Neijiang, and Guang'an introduced a "Ticket Stub Plus" model to facilitate cross-regional collaboration and consumer spending promotion. Their tourist distribution centers also set up service points and direct shuttle buses to scenic areas, ensuring seamless transportation connections.