CHANGCHUN, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Jilin Province has attracted over 14.7 million tourists during the week-long Spring Festival holiday, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.52 percent, local authorities said Tuesday.

The rising number of tourists brought a revenue of about 14.3 billion yuan (2.1 billion U.S. dollars), up 19.64 percent, according to the provincial culture and tourism department.

Jilin, renowned for winter tourism, has launched more than 600 snow-themed activities during the Spring Festival holiday.

Yan Shuai, marketing manager of a ski resort in Jilin, said it is obvious that more tourists prefer recreational trips to sightseeing tours this year.

Instead of traveling around scenic spots, tourists choose to go skiing, relax in hot springs and sample local cuisine.

Statistics from the department show that tourists on average stay 1.92 days in the province and spend about 970.77 yuan.

Strong consumer demand has boosted winter tourism in China. A China Tourism Academy report forecast that the number of tourists will grow by 15 percent annually to reach 340 million in winter 2021-2022, from about 170 million in winter 2016-2017.